KOJIC ACID FOR DARK SPOTS & HYPERPIGMENTATION

Hey guys what's up I hope your week is going well in today's article I wanted to talk about an ingredient that I mentioned in products all the time and that is kojic acid. While I get why it's helpful and tell you what you need to know about it as far as what you might expect and what you might expect for products that offer this ingredient. What it can do for the skin kojic acid is something that is actually produced in nature from fungus it also it is naturally produced through the fermentation of a variety of foods specifically soy bean filtrate soybean ferment filtrate for example likely has kojic acid in it so if you see that as an ingredient there's probably some inkling of kojic acid within that also fermented rice Saki these have kojic acid. It has skin benefits as a skin lightening agent which.

I'll talk mostly about in today's article in terms of its inclusion in topical products creams lotions etc. for targeting brightening and hyperpigmentation but it also is an antioxidant so it can help in scavenging the free radicals although as I've always said with all antioxidants applied to the skin their stability is always questionable as far as if they are truly able to scavenge free radicals within your skin from the day to day stressors that we are exposed to but that is that is an agent that is and did benefit so if you see the ingredient kojic acid in your skincare products know that you have an ingredient that is an antioxidant and you have an ingredient that is going to be helpful for skin framing. 

It also is antimicrobial to a certain extent meaning it can help lower bacterial colonization it also has some degree of anti-inflammatory properties and it's also because of its antioxidant properties and it's planetary properties. If you look at the bigger picture of our skin health and skin aging as a result of things that we're exposed to an environment. 

It also can be touted as an anti-aging ingredient also kojic acid can help to lessen some of the damage to the skin from ultraviolet radiation exposure so it has UV protective properties know what is not sunscreen no you can't just put soybean on your face fermented soybean kojic acid and expect you to act like sunscreen but as an ingredient it's something that also offers a little bit of a protection against some of the damage of UVA radiation but a key strength of kojic acid in topical preparations what its main mechanism of action for and what why people really want to use it is that.

It is a skin brightening lightening agent the way that it works in the skin to do this to achieve this to achieve improvement in hyperpigmentation and/or melasma to a certain extent is that it in hibits something called tyrosinase tyro space is an enzyme that it played that it’s important for formation of pigment in the skin melanocytes are cells in our skin that live in the epidermis the top layer of the skin but kind of at the bottom layer of it and these cells are tasked with making pigment known as melanin they utilize the enzyme tyrosinase to do this and then they pass that pigment on in a very complicated and coordinated manner to surrounding skin cells known as keratinocytes in diseases of hyperpigmentation including the last bomb when this trafficking of pigment and transfer of pigment and production of pigment is abnormal.

You have resultant hyperpigmentation and/or melasma factors that can result in this process being upregulated and dysregulated include exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the Sun visible light from the Sun like blue light specifically as well as free radicals and pollutants infrared radiation excessive heat this can all result you know activation of that enzyme tyrosinase to produce banner to pig meat to produce melanin so tyrosinase is an enzyme Centre and simple to that enzyme is copper helps you tell tyrosinase to act to convert different compounds to ultimately form melanin and so in the presence of UV exposure for example copper kind of helps the tyrosinase to convert different precursors into melanin become more active and so the way that kojic acid works is that it inhibits tyrosinase by mopping up and holding on to that coppers.

 It is a copper key later in the skin so it can address that it's a very specific part of how the pathophysiology of hyperpigmentation ultimately occurs now if you've read my article on hydroquinone and talking about how to use hydroquinone the risks and benefits you know that at this point hydroquinone first of all is banned in many countries.

But it also is something that cannot be used indefinitely long term it does have risks side effects developing in the skin so it is used only for an abbreviated period of time often times much to the dismay of the individual using it when the hydroquinone is stopped the hyperpigmentation often comes back so what are you left with you can’t necessarily continue the hydroquinone indefinitely poaching acid is an ingredient that is an alternative and something that can be continued without interruption without risk of those side effects that are where no one has and it can continue to help to inhibit that enzyme that contributes your hyperpigmentation and along with sun protection.

You can really get some decent sustained benefit kojic acid applied to your skin in a topical preparation like a cream is incredibly safe with low to no detectable levels in the in the body after application it has been examined in individuals with melasma applying the product outwards of two years with no reported adverse side effects probably the most common side effect and risk associated with using a product containing topical kojic acid is like with anything you like to put on the surface of your skin you can develop a contact dermatitis to it.

That can be irritating and can sting also because this this ingredient inhibits tyrosinase you also can be with long-term use putting yourself at a slightly increased risk for getting a sunburn if you do not protect yourself from the Sun so meaning the threshold with which you burn will be a little bit lower than it was without coating account that is another risk but kojic acid is able to penetrate into the skin really well it is most well tolerated and most effective at concentrations of 1% notice what you generally will find in over-the-counter products claiming to have or listing kojic acid on the ingredient list it will be somewhere around 1% higher percentage is not more effective and a higher percentage is associated with a higher rate of side effects so best to stick to the 1% so while kojic acid can be continued more on a long-term basis without the adverse effects of hydroquinone Hans I don’t want you set you up for false hope and now.

This is not something that is going to necessarily cure your hyperpigmentation concerns depending on the type of hyper pigment that you have in other words when you stop it the hyperpigmentation can comeback particularly if you go out again in the Sun expose your skin to the Sun now the hyperpigmentation will return if you have melasma this can result in some transient improvement in the appearance of the Millan's not when it is stopped particularly if you have a melasma that is photosensitive you will have return of your disease so it's not cure but it has a brightening effect on the skin that is short-lived and therefore.

It needs to be continued however in addition to the benefits that I’ve mentioned of inhibiting tyrosinase and helping with hyperpigmentation there also have been some other observed benefits with use of topical kojic acid namely it also seems to impart some a little bit of control of acne so if you’re somebody who has acne that heals with hyperpigmentation kojic acid is an ingredient that might be helpful to you and kojic acid not only is it helpful for hyperpigmentation such as what occurs after acne heals what's called post inflammatory hyperpigmentation and melasma ah it also can be helpful for brightening and lightening sun spots and model hyperpigmentation as a result of sun damage so that is an added benefit so again kojic acid works by inhibiting tyrosinase.

It also has antioxidant properties it's anti-inflammatory antimicrobial hopeful for acne can help lighten and brighten dark spots not acre but is relatively well tolerated long-term kojic acid has been shown to be beneficial on its own but in combination with other treatments for hyperpigmentation like hydroquinone that benefit is is increased and also in addition to combining it with hydroquinone coated acid has also been examined in combination. 

When it’s glycolic acid and shown to perform even better and the reason that the glycolic acid is thought to be helpful as a for increased penetration of kojic acid into the skin so it's a good it's a good ingredient you use a long sign it with a caveat that glycolic acid can be irritating so if you're somebody who is getting a lot of irritation from kojic acid and you're using it with like colic acid the two might just be too much for you so you know one of my favourite skincare products that has kojic acid in it and I personally observe benefit when using is a product called the is the PTA skin pigment gel and I have a article how I used it so check that out if you are at all interested in it. 

But I will give a shout out to that product it is effective not only does it contain kojic acid but it also has the other ingredient azelaic acid I have a article talking about azelaic acid and why it is helpful for hyperpigmentation so the two combined it's very useful but there are many kojic acid products as a result offer mentation of a variety of foods like rice and soy so you know you will experience some of these benefits from using some of the Japanese skincare products that have fermented soy extract fermented rice extract fermented rice filtrate you will likely derive some kojic acid as a benefit from those ingredients see ya this is a article wanted to make for you guys for sometime especially after I shared the hydroquinone pre pigment show with you all so I've talked about azelaic acid before you all have asked me if I could talk about kojic acid so it is another ingredient in the armamentarium to target hyperpigmentation with some added benefits it seems to be well tolerated in the long run so I hope this article was helpful to.