Why is arbutin effective? This starts with the production of melanin:
1. At the bottom of our epidermis, there is a group of factories that produce black, they are called "melanocytes"
2. The raw material used in factory production is called "tyrosine", an amino acid in the human body
3. The finished product, called "melanin", is shaken into the epidermal cells after being produced
4. The rate-limiting enzyme in this chemical reaction is called "tyrosinase"
It is impossible for us to destroy the factory. If it really destroys you, you will become vitiligo. Therefore, the key to healthy and efficient whitening is to seize the tyrosinase, hold it down, and you will have hope in vain.
There are many types of tyrosinase inhibitors, with different effects and prices. It is recognized that the strongest effect is hydroquinone cream. Hydroquinone cream is a commonly used anti-freckle ointment in hospitals. It is almost the first skin depigmenting agent recognized by humans, and it has been in clinical application for 20 to 30 years.
Its characteristic is that it looks very much like the raw material tyrosine of melanin, so when tyrosinase wants to grab a little tyrosine to make melanin, it may catch the wrong person and take the hydroquinone away. When I got to the factory of melanocytes, I discovered that the products were out of order, and melanin could not be produced. This is called competitive inhibition. But when the concentration is high, it may be toxic to cells. If melanocytes are poisoned, permanent depigmentation spots will appear, which is the same principle as vitiligo.
Because hydroquinone still has some shortcomings, such as unstable to light, high concentration and irritation, it is not suitable for people with very sensitive skin. Some people have been studying other skin depigmenting agents. In 1988, the Japanese scholar Qiubao extracted arbutin from the leaves of the azalea crop, bearberry (the name is because bears especially like to eat this fruit), and found that this thing can also inhibit tyrosinase. Active to achieve whitening, but it has not been found that it will leave people with long-lasting white spots. So it is much safer. Of course, there are no two things in the world. Its effect may be slightly worse than that of hydroquinone, but it is still quite obvious.