Sunless Tanning, Tan Acceleration and Skin Lightening

Posted by Chemlink in Personal Care Products | 0 comments

Whether your looking to lighten skin, protect skin or tan skin in your next formulation, Chemlink have a variety of products for you to select from. Read below to see what type of products we can offer you.

In cosmetic terms there are several ways of darkening the skin. Obviously, if you have a pale skin you can sit in the sun or under a UV lamp and your skin will, over time,  go darker in colour due to the production of melanins. There is, however, a danger in doing this as some skin is poor at producing these melanin pigments and just goes red and peels off (i.e. is burnt). Or too much exposure to the UV can cause severe skin damage such as, premature ageing of the skin and even cancer. There are ways to avoid too much sun exposure and still produce a tan. The alternative is to do with producing a lighter complexion, there have been many dangerous ways in the past to achieve this such as Hydroquinone and Mercury salts, and in some parts of the world these harsh chemicals still find a market. We can however achieve a level of skin lightening without any of the attendant dangers posed by these chemicals.

1/ So-called Fake Tan or Sunless tanning.

This is achieved most commonly by the application of DiHydroxy Acetone or DHA to the skin either as a cream lotion or spray solution. DHA is a naturally derived product derived from the fermentation of sugar. In use it reacts with amino acids in the top layer of the skin to produce a brown pigment, hence a ‘fake’ tan or because it works without sunlight ‘sunless tanning’. This can also be achieved with the use of another naturally derived product Erythrulose, again this is a reaction with the top layer of skin. The difference between the two products is a question of time for the tan to develop, DHA being faster than Erythrulose . By combining the two products the longevity of the tan can be increased. This tan gives no protection from the harmful effects of UV radiation and is merely cosmetic.

2/ Tan acceleration.

The way the body makes the Melanins that give the natural tan is by way of converting the Amino acid Tyrosine via the enzyme Tyrosinase. If you can put more Tyrosine into the skin then the amount of melanin produced is increased and the body produces a natural tan quicker. Unfortunately Tyrosine is very insoluble so has no effect if applied topically. However derivatives of Tyrosine can be produced which give bio-available Tyrosine and these compounds can be easily formulated into many cosmetic products. Chemlink have a derivative from our Italian principal Sinerga. This product is called Tyrostan (INCI: Potassium Caprylyl Tyrosine)  which is water soluble and provides around 10% of bio-available Tyrosine. When applied topically to the skin it significantly speeds up the rate of the bodies production of a natural tan. This is not a ‘Fake’ tan as it is the bodies natural tan and as such goes some way to protect the skin from UV radiation damage. This product also comes in an oil soluble version called Tyrosinol (INCI: Caprylyl Tyrosinic acid, sorbitan Isostearate , Glyceryl Oleate). We here at Chemlink have produced a range of starting point formulations based on these two products. Please contact us using the above forms for details.

3/Skin lightening

If tanning is the production of Melanins by the the reaction of Tyrosine with Tyrosinase. If you can stop this reaction then you inhibit the production of melanins and the skin gets lighter in shade over time. We have a product which does this and is cosmetically very safe. This product is Azeloglicina (INCI: Potassium Azeloyl diglycinate) from Sinerga in Italy. When applied regularly to the skin it produces a pronounced lightening of the skin’s complexion, giving it a brighter and more radiant glow. Azeloglicina also helps to remove skin blemishes such as liver spots. It can also a very good moisturises and can be used as in anti-acne treatments as it has a sebum normalising effect. A second product in this area is Eydren (INCI Ethyl Ximenyate, Potassium Lauroyl Wheat Amino Acids, Palm Glycerides , Caprylyl Glycine). This product is specifically aimed at anti-ageing for the eyes. Based on the potassium salt of Ximenynic acid, which is derived from the Ximenia plant. This product will reduce the darkening under the eyes as well as reducing bags (i.e. puffy eyes), thus making the eyes look younger.

Again, we here at Chemlink have starter formulations to show the use of these products in a broad range of formulations. Please contact us for further details by using the forms at the top of the page.