Introduction
In recent years, glutathione has taken over the beauty industry for its skin brightening benefits. Several beauty companies, dermatologists, and skincare experts rely on this powerful ingredient to improve skin health. Therefore, you can get glutathione supplements, IV drips, and topical brightening creams in Pakistan.
While it is successfully helping the mass public achieve whiter and brighter skin, many do not know what glutathione is and how it works. In this article, we will explore the science behind glutathione, the mechanism behind its skin brightening benefits, and what to expect when using it.
What is Glutathione?
Glutathione is also known as the ‘master antioxidant’, which makes it a powerful antioxidant ingredient. It is naturally produced in the body, which fights toxins and free radicals from the skin. It is a tripeptide which is composed of three amino acids: glycine, cysteine, and glutamine. These amino acids help in strengthening your cells to protect them against toxins, free radicals, and oxidative stress.
Glutathione plays various roles in the human body, such as:
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Strengthening the immune system
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Detoxifying the liver from any harmful toxins.
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Repairing cellular damage
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Improving the skin’s appearance
Although it is naturally produced in the body, there are several factors that lead to the decline in glutathione production. Age plays a vital role in reducing it, and your skin becomes weak against pollution, stress, poor diet, and UV exposure. When these stressors overpower the body, glutathione levels reduce, and they create oxidative stress and toxins at the cellular level.
The Science Behind Skin Pigmentation
Our body has a whole mechanism for how skin color forms in every individual. If glutathione plays a role in brightening skin color, you need to understand how your body forms skin color.
Your skin tone is determined by a natural pigment found in the body, melanin.
Our body produces two types of melanin:
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Eumelanin: dark brown to black pigment
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Pheomelanin: yellow to reddish pigment
There are special cells called melanocytes that produce melanin as a natural sunscreen. Melanin helps protect skin from UV radiation. The process through which these cells produce melanin is melanogenesis by activating the activity in the Tyrosinase enzyme. This process is activated under sun exposure, hormonal changes, and inflammation. When melanin production increases, you get uneven skin tone, hyperpigmentation, melasma, or dark spots.
How Glutathione Affects Skin Tone
While melanin plays its part in skin pigmentation, glutathione helps combat it and produce a brightening effect in skin. Glutathione works through several mechanisms that help in cellular repair and brightness.
Inhibition of Tyrosinase Enzyme
Glutathione works in minimizing the activity of the Tyrosinase enzyme, which reduces melanin production in the body. Therefore, less melanin production leads to brighter and even-toned skin. So, the skin's appearance gets lighter.
Shift from Eumelanin to Pheomelanin
Glutathione changes the melanin production. It shifts the production of eumelanin to pheomelanin, which produces lighter pigment in the body. Thus, even in sun exposure, hormonal changes, or inflammation, glutathione encourages the production of yellow to reddish pigment, which makes your skin radiant.
Neutralizing Free Radicals
Glutathione is a master antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals in the body. These free radicals lead to skin cell damage, dullness, and melanin production. But the antioxidants in glutathione reduce the damage of oxidative stress. Therefore, your skin stays protected from hyperpigmentation and dullness and appears brighter and lighter.
Anti-Inflammatory Benefits
Chronic inflammatory conditions like wounds, acne, eczema, psoriasis, and allergies can worsen hyperpigmentation. Glutathione has anti-inflammatory properties that soothe the skin and control pigment production.
Forms of Glutathione Available
When not naturally produced, you can take glutathione in various forms. Asra Derm offers various glutathione supplements in Pakistan in multiple forms that support skin brightening, like:
Oral Supplements
Oral glutathione supplements, like liquids, pills, capsules, or powders, help in easy absorption and digestibility. These supplements are easy on the stomach as they are formulated according to digestive health and the required dosage.
For oral glutathione supplements options in Pakistan: Buy Asra Derm’s:
Topical Brightening Creams and Serums
The skincare and beauty industry is promoting glutathione for all the right reasons. These topical brightening creams and serums infuse the benefits of glutathione into the skin, fade dark spots, make skin even, and give a brighter glow. However, choosing safe whitening creams or other products in Pakistan is essential for skin health. Therefore, we offer you safe glutathione creams, face wash, and serums in Pakistan for a healthy, long-lasting glow:
Professional Treatments
The most scientifically approved and certified form of glutathione is IV drips. This procedure is performed under medical supervision. Through IV Drips, glutathione infuses directly into the bloodstream, absorbs faster, and gives visible results in a shorter time as compared to other forms.
What to Expect: Timeline and Results
Glutathione is a powerful ingredient to brighten skin. However, like any other whitening or brightening solution, it does not show overnight results. To get visible results, you have to be consistent with the process.
Initial changes
In the beginning, you will not see visibly brighter skin in a few days. It takes some time to see progressive changes towards achieving a healthy skin. With consistent use of the first 6-8 weeks, you can see fresher, even-toned skin with faded dark spots and pigmentation.
Visible Brightening Results
To see visible brightening results, you need to wait for at least 2 to 3 months with consistency. You see fresher, clearer, and lighter skin tone after months of use with proper dosage and lifestyle changes.
Maintenance
After getting whiter skin with the use of glutathione, you cannot expect the glow to stay forever. For maintained results, you need to keep taking glutathione at a reduced dosage, or withdrawing will increase melanin production and oxidative stress in the body. It will make your skin get back its darker pigment. Thus, you need to maintain your glow by staying consistent with the use and making the following changes to your lifestyle:
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Avoid sun exposure as much as you can
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Do not skip sunscreen
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Stay hydrated
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Have a balanced diet
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Avoid excessive smoking or alcohol
FAQs
Is glutathione effective for all skin types and tones?
Glutathione is effective for all skin types and skin tones as it is an antioxidant that helps brighten skin. However, the result time may vary depending on each skin tone and type. Lighter skin tones see results quickly than medium to darker skin tones, as it takes some time to reduce excessive melanin production.
How does glutathione compare to other skin brightening ingredients?
Glutathione is a brightening ingredient, but it cannot be confused with a whitening agent. It works by altering the melanin production and fighting free radicals rather than exfoliating the outer skin cells for a brightening effect, like other skin brightening ingredients like Alpha Arbutin, Vitamin C, and Niacinamide.
Will results remain if you stop taking glutathione?
No, results will not remain if you stop taking glutathione. The results will fade away as melanin production returns to normal upon inflammation, sun exposure, or hormonal changes. So, you have to maintain the results with consistent use, proper skincare routine, and healthy lifestyle habits.
How does it work on specific types of hyperpigmentation?
Glutathione works effectively on all types of pigmentations. Sun spots, tanning, and post-acne marks take comparatively shorter times to fade. However, deep hyperpigmentation caused by hormonal changes takes more time and requires professional medical guidance.
