Niacinamide, tranexamic, arbutin, kojic — fading spots.
The evidence runs backwards. Topical and oral glutathione have small randomised trials behind them; the intravenous version — the most expensive, most heavily promoted route — has none at all.
It treats acne, rosacea and pigment simultaneously, survives pregnancy, and fights with almost nothing in your routine. Its problem is texture and the absence of a marketing budget.
Hydroquinone lost its over-the-counter status, and a crowd of gentler brighteners rushed in to fill the gap. Here's which ones earn their shelf space.
Cysteamine is one of the few non-hydroquinone pigment treatments with real trial data. The price of admission is ten genuinely unpleasant minutes a day.
They brighten through completely different machinery — which is exactly why the 'pick one' framing is a trap.
Licorice root is skincare's rare two-in-one: a pigment inhibitor and an anti-inflammatory in the same molecule — which is exactly why reactive skin should know it.