Skin whitening products are commercially available for cosmetic purposes in\r\norder to obtain a lighter skin appearance. They are also utilized for clinical treatment of\r\npigmentary disorders such as melasma or postinflammatory hyperpigmentation. Whitening\r\nagents act at various levels of melanin production in the skin. Many of them are known as\r\ncompetitive inhibitors of tyrosinase, the key enzyme in melanogenesis. Others inhibit the\r\nmaturation of this enzyme or the transport of pigment granules (melanosomes) from\r\nmelanocytes to surrounding keratinocytes. In this review we present an overview of\r\n(natural) whitening products that may decrease skin pigmentation by their interference with\r\nthe pigmentary processes.
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