Serum for Melasma and Skin Brightening

You are looking to create a serum to help with melasma and brighten your skin using several ingredients. Let's look at the potential benefits of the ingredients you mentioned, excluding Sheep placenta which is not available.

• Goji Berry: We could not find a specific Goji berry extract product in our search results, so we cannot provide details on its efficacy for melasma or brightening based on our product information.
• Turmeric (Tetrahydrocurcuminoids): Ingredients derived from turmeric, such as Tetrahydrocurcuminoids (found in products like WhiteCumin™ and WhiteCumin™ 2x), are known for their ability to reduce skin pigmentation and act as antioxidants. These properties can help in addressing melasma and contributing to a brighter complexion.
• Alpha Arbutin: Alpha Arbutin is a well-regarded ingredient for skin whitening and achieving an even skin tone. It works by reducing melanin production and is considered safe and effective for this purpose.
• Vitamin C (L-Ascorbic Acid and derivatives): Various forms of Vitamin C, including L-Ascorbic Acid, are potent antioxidants that can help brighten the skin, fade dark spots (like those in melasma), and stimulate collagen production.
• Vitamin B3 (Niacinamide): Niacinamide (Vitamin B3), found in products like Safe-B3™ and Extreme-B3™, is beneficial for reducing hyperpigmentation (red/black marks) and improving overall skin clarity. It also helps strengthen the skin barrier and can reduce oiliness.

Based on the properties of these ingredients, a serum containing Tetrahydrocurcuminoids, Alpha Arbutin, Vitamin C, and Vitamin B3 could potentially help improve the appearance of melasma and contribute to brighter skin.

Vitamin C vs. Vitamin B3 with Alpha Arbutin

Regarding whether Vitamin C or Vitamin B3 is better to use with Alpha Arbutin, it's important to consider compatibility, particularly in terms of pH levels and potential interactions.

• Alpha Arbutin is generally most effective and stable in formulations with a pH between 3.5 and 6.5.
• Vitamin B3 (Niacinamide) is most effective in the pH range of 4.0-7.0 and is stable between 3-8. This pH range overlaps well with Alpha Arbutin.
• Vitamin C (L-Ascorbic Acid) requires a low pH (typically 2.0-4.0) for optimal efficacy and stability. Some Vitamin C derivatives have different optimal pH ranges (e.g., Ascorbyl Glucoside is stable at pH 6.5-6.8, Ethyl Ascorbic Acid at 3.5-6.0, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate at 7-9, and Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate within 6.0).

Crucially, some forms of Vitamin C, such as Ascorbyl Glucoside, Ethyl Ascorbic Acid, and Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate, have explicit warnings in their product descriptions against combining them with Vitamin B3 (Niacinamide). While the description for L-Ascorbic Acid doesn't mention this specific incompatibility, formulating L-Ascorbic Acid (requiring low pH) with Niacinamide (preferring a higher pH) can be challenging to achieve optimal conditions for both ingredients simultaneously.

Considering the overlapping optimal pH ranges and the explicit incompatibility warnings for certain Vitamin C derivatives with Niacinamide, Vitamin B3 (Niacinamide) appears to be a more compatible ingredient to pair with Alpha Arbutin in a formulation aimed at brightening and addressing hyperpigmentation.