Efficacy of hydroquinone-free skin-lightening cream for photoaging

Background Hyperpigmentation and solar damage remains a difficult problem to treat with topical agents. Aims To evaluate a novel skin-lightening complex (SLC) comprising four actives targeting melanin formation at multiple levels, namely disodium glycerophosphate, l-leucine, phenylethyl resorcinol, and undecylenoyl phenylalanine, in an oil-in-water emulsion cream. Patients /Methods Skin-lightening complex was evaluated in 80 female subjects of skin types IIII with at least moderate mottled hyperpigmentation. After a wash-out period of 1month with a sunscreen, the subjects added a cream containing the SLC for 12weeks twice daily to entire face and continued the sunscreen use. Results Whereas there was no significant change during the wash-out period, the primary endpoint mottled hyperpigmentation decreased by 32% after the 12-week treatment period with the SLC cream. Secondary endpoints such as severity and number of lentigines, skin tone, and skin brightness also improved. In all, 57% of the subjects showed at least a moderate response, 17% did not improve, and 3% got worse after the treatment. Conclusions The SLC cream was well tolerated, in particular when comparing with exfoliating or peeling agent containing skin-lightening products. When used with a daily sunscreen, this study confirms that the SLC represents an alternative to hydroquinone, retinoids, and many other skin-lightening actives.