Did you know that skin colour is determined by the melanin pigment it produces?
Melanin gives hair, the iris and skin their natural colours. It filters and absorbs UV light to provide a natural protection against sun burn, but it does not always provide broad spectrum protection. If you have a suntan, it is an indication that your skin cells have been damaged by penetrating UVA rays. But attempting to achieve better, brighter skin is not just about giving skin a good scrub and slapping on the sunblock. Instead, more skincare brands have taken to adopting holistic approaches to achieving good-looking skin.
White Brillance by Murad
The key to looking and feeling good, according to Dr Howard Murad, a professor of medicine at UCLA, is closely connected to your cellular health, that is, how well your body's cell membranes can hold water, which directly affects the state of your skin.
But this does not mean that downing eight glasses of water a day will get you there.
What Dr Murad, who also created his own line of skincare, Murad, Inc, advocates is to help your body's cells hold water well by "eating your water" - getting most of your water intake from raw fruits and vegetables to promote healthy, young cells.
The other two aspects of keeping a healthy cellular state is to use skincare that allows water to penetrate into the cell level, as well as keeping emotionally happy and staying connected with others, as isolation causes your skin and body to age rapidly.
White Brillance falls under the topical care section - taking care of your cell turnover. It is a range of whitening skincare developed by Dr Howard Murad for the Asian market. It consists of a three-step programme - Gentle Cleanser, Wrinkle and Pore Refining Treatment and Illuminating Day Moisture with SPF 30 PA+++ that stops future pigmentation as well as addresses uneven skin tone, discolouration, dark spots, large pores and wrinkles.
White Brillance helps to boost skin health as it lightens and minimises the appearance of pores. Vitamin C clarifies and brightens skin while encouraging collagen production, tyronsinase inhibitors provide intense whitening of existing dark spots and help prevent any future ones from popping up by inhibiting the skin's melanin production cycle and a gentle exfoliator promotes cell turnover for skin clarity, versus other whitening products that often use harsh brighteners to achieve a lightening effect on skin.
All three products in this range also have a pleasant, mild fragrance.
Diva's review: We like this range for its ease of use - no fussing around with toners, night creams and other extras, and for its gentleness on skin. The cleanser was creamy and foamy and surface dirt was removed cleanly from skin, but without drying out the skin.
The treatment serum felt light, but did its job of keeping fine lines at bay. A month's worth of use and the light laugh lines were visibly reduced, but it did not cause too much shine at our oily T-zone.
The Day Moisture was also of the same texture as the treatment serum. While stubborn pigment spots have not been completely erased, they have also not worsened while emerging ones seem to take longer to develop.
As for eating raw fruits and veggies and keeping in touch? We like those suggestions too!
The Gentle Cleanser retails for $59, Wrinkle and Pore Refining Treatment for $180 and Illuminating Day Moisture for $119.
Fancl Mutenka Whitening Range
Any beauty junkie worth her salt knows that Fancl's philosophy of not adding preservatives to their skincare products make this brand safe for those who have hyper-sensitive skin or allergies that may be worsened by chemical or artificial ingredients.
The Mutenka Whitening Range is a whitening regime that aims to help you get clearer, whiter skin from inside and out.
Daily whitening care - White Advance, an oral supplement, and White Essence, a serum with olive leaf extract to reactivate Vitamin C, can be used on a daily basis to promote fair melanin, lighten existing skin pigmentation and suppress the formation of new dark pigmentation.
For more targeted care to stop skin darkening at an early stage, there is intensive whitening care by White Advance Drink EX, a drink that can be consumed before you step out into the sun, and Clear White Mask, a face mask that whitens, protects and repairs skin which can be used after sun exposure.
From essence to oral supplements and drinks and a facial mask, the Whitening Range is a comprehensive set of skincare that takes care of pigmentation from inside and out.
The Fancl Whitening range is available at all Fancl outlets from 21 May 2010. Prices from $32.50 onwards.
Look out also for the Limited Edition Perfect Whitening Kit, with White Essence, White Clear Mask, Sunguard 30 Crystal Pearl, and Brightening Mist Lotion.
The latter two are pocket-sized which can be carried around for a quick touch-up. Sunguard 30 Crystal Pearl is a water resistant sun block that protects skin from photo-ageing, and the brightening mist lotion protects skin from UV damage and dryness. Available at $88.00.
Diva's review: Our favourite from this range had to be the Clear White Mask. With a thicker weave made of rayon and pulp, the mask was designed to suit our Asian facial bone structure as it is stretchable and can cover broader faces. Besides containing olive leaf extract, it also has grapefruit extract to enhance the absorption of sustainable Vitamin C derivatives into skin to lighten dark melanin.
