A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, comparative study
Depigmenting agents, also known as whitening agents or skin tone lighteners, are products used to lighten or “whiten” the skin. In medical practice, such agents are used by dermatologists in the treatment of pigmentation disorders, such as post inflammatory hyperpigmentation secondary to contact dermatitis; widespread tinea corporis; disseminated lesions of scabies; conditions like melasma or chloasma; or as a treatment option for patients with widespread, treatment-resistant vitiligo, primarily as a measure to depigment residual normal skin (1). In cosmetics, such agents serve as active ingredients that reduce localized hyperpigmentation, age spots, and sun damage, and help to effect a lighter skin tone. Hydroquinone, an inhibitor of tyrosinase, the rate limiting enzyme in melanin biosynthesis, has been used as an active ingredient in skin tone lightening formulations for over fifty years.
