Brightening up ageing skin

US division of Japanese mail order skincare company DHC introduces alpha-arbutin white mask. The company claims alpha-arbutin is up to ten times more effective at brightening skin than the traditional brightening ingredient beta-arbutin.

One factor that contributes to uneven skin tone is age spots. Also known as liver spots or lentigines, these flat brown spots can begin developing as early as a person's late thirties. As people age, deposits of melanin get trapped in the skin - mostly from photoageing, the effect of chronic and excessive sun exposure on the skin - and this slows the skin's defenses and normal skin cell turnover. When turnover is slow, dull, lifeless cells can accumulate on the skin's surface and darken the complexion's natural glow, says DHC.

As such DHC USA has created a product containing alpha-arbutin, a brightening ingredient that the company claims is up to ten times more stable and effective than the ordinary beta-arbutin used by many other skincare companies.

"Beta-arbutin, derived from bearberry, has long been praised as a natural skin brightener and has been used for several years throughout Asia. DHC improves upon this ingredient with formulations made with alpha-arbutin, a more stable and effective brightening ingredient than beta-arbutin,"​ said Hadrian Miguel, division manager of DHC USA.

Alpha-Arbutin White Mask comes in the form of a soft paper sheet pre-saturated with DHC's alpha-arbutin solution, along with moisturising glycerin, serine, and botanical brighteners. The paper sheet is designed to offer an effective new way to deliver the ingredient to the skin.

Alpha-Arbutin White Mask will retail at $10.00 (€8.46) for five sheets and is available by catalogue or through DHC's website​.