Cysteamine for Skin: How This Antioxidant Can Help Fade Dark Spots
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Loading... - Peter Larsen
- 30 Mar 2023
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Anyone with dark spots or melasma knows how challenging dealing with facial discoloration can be. Many products have significant side effects, and finding one that won't irritate your skin endlessly or bleach the areas of your face that don't have hyperpigmentation can seem like searching for a needle in a haystack. Enter cysteamine, an antioxidant that double-board-certified plastic surgeon Jaimie DeRosa, MD, tells us "is a naturally found chemical compound that is biosynthesized in mammals, including humans, by the degradation of coenzyme A." Ahead, DeRosa and board-certified dermatologist Hadley King, MD, share all you need to know about cysteamine for skin, from who should use it to how it works.
What Is Cysteamine?
Cysteamine is a naturally occurring antioxidant that can be used for lightening pigmentation in the skin. "It inhibits the synthesis of melanin," King explains. "It is a naturally occurring antioxidant that can be found in the human body." DeRosa adds that cysteamine "has been used as a therapeutic for decades to treat a rare genetic lysosomal storage disorder, nephropathic cystinosis."
Cysteamine works for fading dark patches "by decreasing the amount of L-cystine in the cells, which is involved in the production of melanin, so it effectively works to decrease excess pigmentation in skin," according to DeRosa. She says that "this is great for those with skin conditions including hyperpigmentation, lentigines, post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH), and melasma." While cysteamine is naturally occurring and safe for most people, King points out that those with vitiligo should avoid it, plus it hasn't been tested for use during pregnancy and breastfeeding, so those groups should steer clear as well.
As far as who can use it, cysteamine works for a wide variety of skin types and conditions. "Cysteamine is best for anyone struggling with hyperpigmentation issues, especially those who would like to avoid hydroquinone, which is banned in the EU as a possible carcinogen, or corticosteroid-containing skin lightening products, which can thin out the skin," DeRosa tells us. Read More…
