Skin: A new way to lighten up dark spots

Fading dermal discolouration used to require extreme measures, but now Clinique has found a gentle yet effective solution.

By Lesa Hannah

Photography by Christopher Stevenson

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I always silently salute the little old Asian ladies who carry an umbrella on the sunniest of days. Unlike most people—who, I presume, stare at them like they’re utter loons—I bow down to their hardcore commitment to shunning UV rays. Of course, for them it’s ingrained: For centuries, alabaster, spot-free skin has been associated with high social status in Asian cultures, and regarded as a beauty ideal.

In the past few years, the desire for a uniform complexion has migrated west—today, you’d be hard-pressed to find a skin-care brand that doesn’t offer a product designed to tackle hyperpigmentation. Whether the result of accumulated sun exposure or hormonal imbalance, or souvenirs from a breakout, these marks, spots, whatever you want to call them—not to be confused with freckles, which are genetic—leave behind a visual history of the injuries you’ve incurred on your face. “What happens is a group of these cells goes crazy,” explains Dr. Daniel Yarosh, senior vice-president of Estée Lauder Companies Basic Science Research. “Making pigment is a natural defence response. They’ve had some signal from UV or inflammation, like acne.”

Historically, the most fanciful (crushed pearl powder) and frightful (arsenic, mercury) ingredients have been called upon to obliterate the spotty evidence, a problem notoriously difficult to treat. That’s why prescription-strength topical hydroquinone has been the modern go-to remedy dispensed by dermatologists. While it produces results, it’s not without side effects—from irritation to a disease called ochronosis (which causes blue-black pigment to form in the skin). It’s also considered toxic by the Canadian government and is banned in Europe on grounds of being a potential carcinogen. That said, the Rxs keep being written. “When I talk to my dermatology friends, they give it in cases because it’s the gold standard,” confides Dr. Yarosh.

That may be about to change—Clinique’s Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector ($63, at department stores) launches this month, “a breakthrough for the cosmetic industry,” declares Janet Pardo, senior vice-president of product development worldwide for the brand. The serum’s big claim is that, given 12 weeks of use twice a day, it’s as efficacious as or better than four-per-cent hydroquinone, without the downside—and the company says it has the clinical evidence to prove its word.

The formulation, dubbed CL-302 complex, features some ingredients commonly used in other brightening products, such as salicylic acid and glucosamine, which slough off the melanin “dust” on the skin’s top layer. Ascorbyl glucoside, a derivative of vitamin C, aids in diminishing the look of spots and “reprograms the melanocyte to calm down and reduce the production of melanin,” says Dr. Yarosh. There’s also trametes versicolor extract, “an enzyme that targets melanin and chops it up,” as well as turmeric root extract and glycyrrhetinic acid, “two very powerful anti-inflammatories.”

But the most recently discovered component in this supercharged curative is dianella enisfolia, a precious botanical ingredient from Southeast Asia selected from a screening of over 1,100 extracts. For the research team, what stood out about this plant was the fact that its particular antioxidant activity proved it the ideal rival for the oxidative reaction of melanin production. “It’s that match that makes it absolutely powerful,” says Dr. Yarosh.

That said, it’s the synergy of all these elements that is credited with boosting the product to prescription-level potency. “I don’t think anybody can reach the standard of hydroquinone with one ingredient alone, and go beyond it,” says Dr. Yarosh. Moreover, to use that medication, “you have to pound [your skin] with this one active ingredient. But when you can combine different ones, use a lower level of each, you reduce the chance for irritation and get a better overall response.”

Mind you, no amount of chemistry cocktailing will keep your skin perfectly even-toned. For that, you’ll need your daily dose of sunscreen. And maybe an umbrella.

First published in FASHION Magazine March 2010

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