You may have seen the word glutathione listed as among the ingredients in many skin-whitening products in the market. But do you know what it is and why it is considered an important ingredient to the process of skin whitening?

Glutathione is a peptide linkage of three amino acids. It is present in all animal cells and is made up of the following:

• Cysteine
• Glutamic
• Glycine

As the most powerful antioxidant in the body, each cell needs glutathione to stay healthy. Put simply, glutathione helps “recycle” unstable molecules, returning to active duty cells efficiently.

Advantages of glutathione

Glutathione plays a decisive role in the function of vitamins C and E, so it is considered the “Master of Antioxidants”. As such, a high supplement of glutathione can improve the quality and health of your skin.

Glutathione plays a pivotal role in detoxifying cells. It also reduces the presence of heavy metals, toxins and free radicals that can damage the body’s cells and dramatically compromise the quality of skin cells in particular.

The pigmentation such as age spots can also be minimised and avoided by decreasing glutathione levels in your body. Not only age spots, but even wrinkles can also be removed thanks to the use of glutathione.

Glutathione supports liver, kidney and intestinal function and helps detoxify the system in two ways:

• Eliminates toxins and digestive chemicals that the body absorbs.
• Blocks and neutralises toxins in the gut before these toxins are absorbed.

How Glutathione works in skin care

UV rays from the sun penetrate deep into the dermis and can cause premature ageing by damaging collagen fibres.

Glutathione is a powerful antioxidant that protects collagen fibres from free radical damage while helping to preserve skin’s elasticity.

Why does the glutathione lighten the skin?

The main cause of tanning and freckles is melanocyte cells synthesising too much melanin in the dermis. Tyrosinase is the key enzyme in the synthesis of melanin.

There are two types of melanin pigments:

• Eumelanin is a dark brown pigment found in dark-skinned people.
• Pheomelanin for red pigment is abundant in the skin of the caucasians.

Glutathione reduces melanin production by inhibiting tyrosinase activity and converting eumelanin into pheomelanin.

Reducing melanin in the body will make skin white. The whitening process of glutathione starts from beneath the skin (dermis) to the outside (epidermis).

This article first appeared on Hello Doktor. The Hello Health Group does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.