Improvement of Melasma With Glabridin-Containing Skin Brightening Product: Clinical and In Vitro Evaluation

Melasma is a common skin disorder characterized by alterations in normal skin pigmentation. Glabridin is confirmed to have anti-melanogenesis activity in skin. However, the clinical whitening effects of glabridin still remain to be investigated. This study is aimed to elucidate the clinical whitening performance in melasma and nonmelasma areas via a whitening serum containing glabridin. The inhibitory mechanisms on melanogenesis of the whitening serum containing glabridin was also evaluated by a 3D skin model. The whitening serum effectively improved apparent chromaticity of the melanin model, increased the L* value, and regulated the content and distribution of melanin. A 56-day clinical experiment showed that glabridin effectively improved the skin glossiness and individual typology angle (ITA) value in both melasma and nonmelasma areas. Remarkably reduced melasma area proportion and melanin content were also observed in the melasma areas and nonmelasma areas, respectively. This work demonstrates that a formula containing glabridin could effectively improve pigmentation through 3D skin model and clinical results.