Skin lightening agents have been available in the global market for decades in the form of hydroquinone, kojic acid or mercury based products. All of these products may have serious side effects and do not necessarily produce the desired uniform and natural looking effect, and are slowly being banned by the regulatory authorities around the world. In recent times, several natural products have been shown to have skin lightening properties whilst exhibiting minimal or no side effects. Generally, however, these products can be unstable, exhibit limited skin penetration and often have poor clinical efficacy.

Skincare manufacturers around the world are seeing an increase in consumer awareness and a desire for more natural, botanical options that will not necessarily lighten, but rather brighten their skin without the harsh effects of many existing products and which will assist with specific problems such as hyperpigmentation, as well as effecting a more even skin tone. The Aloe Ferox Company has been successful in meeting this growing need by formulators and skincare product developers worldwide for a safe, natural, botanical active ingredient for use in skin lightening and brightening products. It holds the exclusive global license for a novel, patented technology for the production of its core product, Aloesin FC™. This technology has been developed over several years and focuses particularly on enhanced yield extraction of aloesin from the indigenous Aloe Ferox species.

The product possesses skin lightening effects as a result of inhibiting tyrosinase, the key enzyme in the production of the skin pigment melanin. By doing so, the product is able to limit melanin production and thus, lighten the skin over a period of time. Furthermore, aloesin has been shown to have excellent properties of absorption in the ultraviolet spectrum, particularly in the UV-B region, making it an important constituent of sunscreen formulations.