Tips to Select the Best Whitening Active for Your Formulation

There are a lot of whitening actives available. But, with so many to choose from, how do you pick the best active for your development?

First, make sure you understand how cosmetic whitening actives work and how to maximize the results by combining the use of SPF and exfoliating cleansers.

Once you know, what can be achieved and how to achieve it; you can start to get the best possible results for your skin tone.

Now, having learnt the key facts about how skin color happens and how could it be altered; let's turn our attention towards selecting the right whitening active for your formulation.

Here are some key tips to help you narrow your selection:

Top 8 Selection Strategies for Whitening Actives

1. What is the product story?

If the story is all natural, then your selection can narrow to only those actives that are totally natural or naturally derived. That is, look for certification such as COSMOS or Ecocert compliance certificates (or other Certifying body) to see if the material has achieved a natural certification.

2. What are your competitors using?

There is no point using the same actives that your competitors are using. With so much choice, make sure your product uses a different active (or actives) to give your formula a marketable point of difference. Look specifically at companies selling product at the same price point you are intending to sell your product. This is to focus specifically on the actives your key competitors are using and ensuring yours are different.

3. Look for in vivo Results

While in vitro results will help you compare the efficacy of actives, only in vivo results will give you results that can be marketed. Even if the product has the best activity, if you can’t make marketable claims, you won’t be able to sell a single unit. So, make sure the active(s) you use have in vivo results so you can provide your marketing department with a strong marketing story.

4. Is the active water or oil soluble?

What actives will have the best compatibility with your product - could you make that a point of difference?

5. Think about Long Term Stability

There is no doubt that ascorbic acid has great efficacy, but it’s also the least stable form of vitamin C. This means that in a water base, within 3 months, it will have little efficacy left! Make sure the formula is created to suit the active you use (including pH compatibility) and you add antioxidants or chelating agents (if needed) and stabilize the formula effectively to get the best shelf life and long term efficacy. 6. Think about Delivery This will depend a bit on the formula you are creating but osmolytes, liposomes and micelles are great ways to enhance delivery. So, use them where it can suit the active and your formulation for best efficacy. 7. Budget for Evaluation While you can use suppliers efficacy data to build your claims, since this is such a competitive sector of the market, you should conduct your own efficacy testing to ensure the product really delivers on the results you are promising.

8. Ask for Lead Time and Pricing

Once you have refined your selections using the points above, then it is time to contact the supplier for lead time and pricing. The lead time on some materials may make them unsuitable for your launch plans; while the pricing on others may make them more desirable than others.

Remember: You need to consider the amount required to get efficacious result v/s pack size v/s cost per unit. A more expensive material used in a small quantity may work out less expensive than a cheaper material needed in a larger quantity and only available in a large pack size via international shipping! Do the calculations to find out what is most suited to your development.

Then, finally, request some samples from suppliers and try them in your formula. You may be able to further finalize your decision based on the way they smell or feel in the formulation - or the results they provide. With so many brands and whitening products available, you not only need a convincing marketing story to get a consumer to try your product, but you need excellent results to keep them using your product over time.

Learn More about Cosmetic Actives!

Ensure successful cosmetic effects & marketing claims with better selection & presentation of your cosmetic “actives”. Join the course: Actives Selection (Peptides, Resveratrol, Hyaluronate…) for Successful Claims to to select the right ingredient for the right claim.