Changes

==Current trends in skin whitening ingredients==

Great advances have been made to understand pigment biology and the processes underlying skin pigmentation in the last decade. Many researchers have begun to produce natural alternatives which mimic the skin lightening properties of hydroquinone and hydroxyanisole. Ingredients such as kojic acid and licorice have become quite popular along with more advanced ingredients like Alpha-Arbutin. When combined, these ingredients can often produce better results that even surpass hydroquinone but without the associated risks. Below is the list of commonly used ingredients that are widely used for skin whitening.

*Because of the accessibility and large area of the skin, it has long been considered as promising route for the administration of drugs, where dermal, regional, or systemic effects are desired. The advantages of the topical route of drug administration include: avoidance of the risks and inconvenience of parenteral treatment; avoidance of the variable absorption and metabolism associated with oral treatment; continuity of drug administration, permitting use of pharmacologically active agents with short biological half-lives and potential reduction of gastrointestinal irritation in systemic administration.[http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect2=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&d=PALL&RefSrch=yes&Query=PN%2F5874095 Deckner et al,1999]