Are you trying to get rid of skin discoloration? If so, you found something just for you. The shikimic acid is a perfect solution for discoloured skin care. Find out how it works!
Skin discoloration is a common problem, appearing unexpectedly, often in the most visible places, for instance, on your face, neck or neckline. This is often a nightmare, as it not only disturbs the uniform skin pigmentation, but also makes it look older. Unfortunately, discoloured skin seems to look much older, more mature and problematic than it should.
How does discoloration appear?
Discoloration appears as a result of excessive pigment production (namely melanin) in your skin, responsible for its colour, the individual complexion of each human. When there is too much of it in some places, darker spots appear on your skin.
The reasons for overproduction of melanin are various, however, the most common reason is the sun exposition. It is hardly surprising – during summer, each one of us wants to get a bit of a tan to make the skin look nicer and warmer. Not using proper protection filters or using beauty products with a low level of UVA/UVB protection, increases the risk of discoloration, difficult to get rid of afterwards.
What is more, with age, particularly after turning 40, the number of discolouring on our skin increases, mainly on the face, neckline and hands.
How to deal with it?
The most common method to reduce the discoloration is exfoliation, namely mechanical “rubbing off” the upper layer of the epidermis, thus making the discoloration less visible or reducing its area. Proper peeling, acid therapies or laser treatments, allow to restore the skin condition and reduce discoloration. They are often made in beauty salons, however, even if they are mostly effective, they are also quite expensive.
Shikimic acid for discoloration
Typically, to reduce discoloration, acids, strongly exfoliating the epidermis, are applied, however, they may irritate the skin. A perfect alternative to commonly applied acids, such as glycolic or salicylic, is the shikimic acid. It is effective and extremely gentle. It is even 10 times stronger than the glycolic acid. It has perfect exfoliating properties even in very low concentrations, thus does not irritate the skin.
Shikimic acid is named after a plant in which it is naturally present. We are talking about the Japanese Shikimi, namely the star anise, valued already in traditional medicine. Today, it is used to care for problematic skin. Considering its exfoliating properties, it is mainly used to reduce various types of discoloration.
How does the shikimic acid work?
The shikimic acid inhibits the tyrosinase enzyme – an enzyme responsible for the mechanism of pigment formation in the skin. If the skin lacks tyrosinase, it is not prone to discoloration – just like Albinos, lacking this particular enzyme. The shikimic acid effectively hinders pigment accumulation, thus preventing from excessive accumulation of melanin in a given spot on the skin. Therefore, it not only reduces discoloration, but also perfectly exfoliates the skin, making its surface smooth. It delicately, but effectively makes the skin smooth and radiant.
The shikimic acid is a substance more and more frequently applied in beauty products sector. If you face the problem of discoloration and at the same time fear excessive skin burning and irritation, resulting from strong effect of other acids, it might be worth considering the shikimic acid.