Unlocking "4-tert-butylresorcinol" with nanowrapping technology

Skin whitening is an eternal topic

The saying goes, "Fair skin hides a hundred flaws." The concept of "beauty in fairness" has a long and deep-rooted history. Today, women still pursue the ideal of "beautiful, rich, and fair," "fair skin, beautiful appearance, and long legs," and so on.

For beauty enthusiasts, it's either whitening or on the way to whitening. Fair skin is always one of the ultimate goals in beauty pursuits. In the skincare market, whitening and freckle removal have always had a huge demand.

Today, we'd like to share a whitening ingredient, known as the "second strongest on earth" - 4-Butylresorcinol 。

4-Butylresorcinol, its INCI name is 4-BUTYLRESORCINOL, mainly used as an antioxidant and whitening agent in cosmetics and skincare products. It has a powerful ability to inhibit tyrosinase activity, inhibiting melanin production from the basal layer, resulting in a significant whitening effect. It's also a green and safe ingredient according to BeautyMiao!

As we all know, broadly speaking, whitening mechanisms can be divided into three main pathways: Reducing melanin production, inhibiting melanin transfer, and accelerating stratum corneum metabolism

The whitening mechanism of 4-butylresorcinol mainly focuses on inhibiting melanin production.

As shown in the above diagram of melanin formation, we can find a key player - Tyrosinase . Tyrosinase plays a catalytic and accelerating role in the formation of melanin, The key to reducing melanin production lies in inhibiting tyrosinase activity 。

Speaking of whitening ingredients, many people should know about 377. However, 377 doesn't have much say in the whitening rankings. 4-Butylresorcinol performs better than 377 in various aspects, with a powerful ability to inhibit tyrosinase activity, inhibiting melanin production from the basal layer, and its whitening effect is even better.

4-Butylresorcinol can effectively inhibit the activity of tyrosinase in the skin, blocking the formation of melanin , by directly binding to tyrosinase itself, accelerating the decomposition and excretion of melanin, thereby reducing skin pigmentation and achieving the effect of whitening and freckle removal. Moreover, its safety is also very good, and it does not produce toxic, irritating, or sensitizing side effects on the melanocytes in the human body.

Mechanism of Action and Process

Solution 1:

BeriCos® W-47

4-Butylresorcinol

There is no doubt that 4-butylresorcinol is a "strong" whitening ingredient in terms of efficacy, but its application in formulations is subject to some limitations:

1. Irritation: Some skin types may experience noticeable stinging.

2. Solubility: It is difficult to dissolve in water and cannot be used in refreshing water-based products; it is also prone to precipitation in emulsion systems.

3. Stability: Its strong antioxidant properties make it susceptible to oxidation by external free radicals.

Solution 2:

BeriCos® 477-Nano

4-Butylresorcinol nano-liposome

BeriCos® 477-Nano uses nano-liposome encapsulation technology to stably encapsulate 4-butylresorcinol within a nano-carrier, significantly increasing absorption efficiency and bioavailability, overcoming existing defects while maintaining advantages, making it more convenient and widely applicable in cosmetic formulations.

1. Solves the problem of irritation, allowing for safe use.

2. Can be directly added to water for uniform dispersion, allowing for the design of various refreshing formulations; it can also be easily added to emulsion formulations without the risk of precipitation.

3. Encapsulation effectively isolates air, greatly reducing the risk of oxidation, ensuring stability.

4. Smaller particle size, easier to penetrate and absorb, higher percutaneous retention and bioavailability.

Product Information

Appearance: Yellow to light brown liquid

Odor: Slight special odor

4-Butylresorcinol content ≈13.5%

Particle size ≈55nm

Ingredient Information

Using nano-carriers, skincare active ingredients are delivered transdermally and targeted to specific skincare target sites and cells for sustained-release and long-lasting effects. This effectively solves the common technical challenge in traditional functional cosmetics of poor transdermal absorption. It can even load multiple active ingredients simultaneously, achieving synergistic effects of multi-functional, multi-target skincare ingredients.

In addition, nano-carriers also improve the solubility and water dispersibility of poorly soluble active ingredients, enhance the stability of light-sensitive and heat-sensitive active ingredients, and improve the compatibility of active ingredients.