If you were to spend some time browsing the skincare options available right now, you’d see that a lot of them have “brightening” listed as one of their benefits. It’s a common feature of everything from toners to serums to moisturizers, but not everyone knows what the promise of brighter, more radiant skin actually means.
The term “brightening” doesn’t have a strict, regulated definition. On product labels, “brightening” can be interpreted in a few ways. Most of the time, it’s used to either describe products that give a healthy glow to dull, dry, and uneven skin, or it can also mean a product or ingredient that helps fade hyperpigmentation or dark spots. Some products/ingredients do both of these things.
Even this explanation probably sparked a ton of follow up questions for you. What is dull skin? What is uneven skin? How do products give you a healthy glow? How does fading hyperpigmentation work? What is the difference between brightening and fading ingredients?
We’ll explore it all in this article. But let’s start from the beginning, with why you might want to use a brightening ingredient/product, and what kind of skin concerns it addresses.
Here’s What Dull, Uneven Skin Means
Dull skin tends to describe skin that is either dry (lacks oil), dehydrated (lacks moisture), and/or has a build up of dead skin cells. This can happen through too much sun exposure, exposure to pollution, and some lifestyle factors like stress, poor sleep, or a poor diet.
This damage can cause a dysfunctional moisture barrier, as well as inflammation that weakens the proteins in skin like elasticity that give it that bouncy quality. Damage can also slow the process of your body generating new skin cells, meaning those dead skin cells sit on your face for longer.
You want to avoid this, because increased cell turnover (the rate at which new skin cells replace old ones) helps your skin appear more fresh, and a build up of dead skin cells can also make it harder for your skincare products to absorb properly, making them less effective.
All these results of skin damage in combination can create a general, overall appearance of dullness rather than the bouncy, dewy, and plump skin most people want. This means you might not be able to point to one specific spot or blemish like you might be able to for acne or dark spots. If you feel like your skin is missing that overall healthy glow—you might describe your skin as “dull”.
As for the term “uneven skin”, this is related to dullness as well, as often those same culprits—dryness, dehydration, and dead skin cell build up—also cause the skin to look textured and uneven.
However, “Uneven skin tone” in particular refers to a complexion that doesn’t have uniform pigmentation. This can look like patches of redness, discolouration, hyperpigmentation (dark spots), hypopigmentation (light spots). This also technically includes things like freckles and any marks left after acne.
If you’re curious about the impact brightening ingredients have on hyperpigmentation and dark spots in particular, keep reading, because to fade or even out pigmentation, you actually use a different kind of ingredient—one that is called a melanin or tyrosinase inhibitor.
As you might have noticed, pigmentation is just one of many factors that cause skin to appear dull or uneven in tone. That’s why “brightening” has a more expansive definition than just the ability to fade dark spots!
So, let’s explore what brightening ingredients actually do, and take a look at how they’re different from ingredients that fade discolouration.
What Do Brightening Ingredients Do?
Skin brightening ingredients are designed to help your complexion regain its natural radiance and light-reflective quality. When skin is hydrated, nourished, and visibly healthy, it tends to look more even-toned and luminous—almost like it’s lit from within. That glow isn’t just about appearances; it’s often a sign that your skin barrier is thriving.
Brighter skin can help minimize the look of blemishes, dullness, and uneven texture, not by masking them, but by supporting overall skin health. While makeup products (hello, Face Glow!) can instantly boost radiance, the most effective and long-lasting way to brighten your skin is by enhancing hydration and restoring balance from within.
Many brightening ingredients go beyond surface-level glow. Antioxidants such as vitamin C and niacinamide not only help with radiance, but also work to reduce oxidative stress and inflammation—two key factors in skin aging and the appearance of concerns like redness, hyperpigmentation, blemishes, etc.
Others, like azelaic acid or mandelic acid, gently exfoliate to smooth texture and fade minor discolouration—revealing the fresher, more even skin beneath. Exfoliation also makes it easier for your skin to absorb moisture, since it removes the buildup that can block hydration from sinking in.
Dry, inflamed areas often show up as redness or patchiness, which can make the skin tone appear uneven. By calming inflammation, increasing moisture levels, and supporting cell turnover, brightening ingredients help bring skin back to a more harmonious, balanced state—your skin will look (and actually be!) more refreshed, revitalized, and naturally glowing.
How is This Different From Ingredients That Fade Discolouration?
If dark spots or hyperpigmentation are your main concern, the best approach is to look for ingredients that specifically target melanin production. These fading ingredients work in a few key ways: some help fade the appearance of excess pigment that’s already formed, while others inhibit the overproduction of melanin at the source—or even do both.
Kojic acid, alpha arbutin, licorice root extract, and tranexamic acid are popular options for visibly reducing dark spots and uneven patches of pigmentation over time. These ingredients are gentle but powerful, and can be especially helpful for those dealing with lingering discolouration from past breakouts, sun exposure, or hormonal shifts.
It’s important to note that not all brightening ingredients are created to fade dark spots specifically, though fading ingredients like those listed above are often marketed as “brightening” as well. While many support overall radiance and improved skin tone, only a handful have targeted effects on pigmentation—aka, all fading ingredients are brightening, but not all brightening ingredients are fading.
What makes fading ingredients effective at reducing hyperpigmentation, dark spots, sun damage, and post-breakout marks is the fact that they are a “tyrosinase inhibitor”. That’s the fancy scientific name (if you’ve ever tried to dig into a skincare scientific study, this is the term they will use!), but to put it simply, ingredients with “anti-tyrosinase activity” stop or slow melanin production.
Discoloured spots are places where melanin was over-produced—usually in response to some kind of skin stressor like UV rays, hormonal changes like melasma, or inflammation from acne—so by inhibiting its production using an ingredient like turmeric, or shiitake, you’re fading those areas and helping prevent more dark spots or unevenness from appearing.
To be clear, your natural skin tone is never something that needs to be lightened or whitened—rather, brightening and melanin inhibiting ingredients can be used to help even out your skin tone and offer your skin protection from damage.
Get Curious About Your Brightening Products
When you see a product listed as “brightening” online or in store, it likely won’t be clear at first glance if the product has brightening ingredients that will also fade hyperpigmentation or not. That’s why it’s always helpful to check the ingredients list and do a little more research before choosing a product.
After all, if you were looking for something to specifically fade dark spots, you probably wouldn’t be satisfied with a brightening product without any melanin inhibiting ingredients!
For example, Moon Boost is our brightening multivitamin serum. Much of its brightening benefits comes from it being a blend of antioxidant-rich, moisturizing oils—ingredients that brighten through plumping skin, protecting it from oxidative damage, exfoliating dead skin cells, or reducing inflammation and soothing redness. This includes ingredients like prickly pear, raspberry, and carrot oils. However, there are also tyrosinase inhibiting ingredients that offer a different kind of brightening effect in Moon Boost, like THD and shiitake.
It can be helpful and empowering to understand which ingredients in a product are offering brightening benefits, and how they work to brighten the skin.
If you’re curious about how the ingredients in our products work, we make an effort to write informative articles about their benefits on our blog (which you’re reading right now!)
Our Favourite Natural Brightening Ingredients
If you want to know a few brightening ingredients to keep an eye out for, here are a few of our faves.
Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate (Vitamin C)
Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate (aka THD) is an oil-soluble form of vitamin C that is gentler on sensitive skin than its L-ascorbic acid counterpart. It’s also more skin friendly because it doesn’t have to be formulated at the same low pH level as L-ascorbic acid, making it a more stable vitamin C choice for people with sensitive skin.
As a vitamin C, THD brightens by being a powerful antioxidant that protects from oxidative stress, preventing collagen and elastin breakdown. It’s also a tyrosinase inhibitor, helping to fade hyperpigmentation and dark spots. When stabilized by acetyl zingerone and coupled with vitamin E (like in our Moon Boost formula), THD is even more effective at brightening, plumping, and firming the skin.
Find it in: Moon Boost Serum
Shiitake
Shiitake harnesses the power of the fungal kingdom to brighten, soothe, protect, renew, and smooth the skin. It has naturally high levels of kojic acid and betulin, two tyrosinase inhibitors. Shiitake also brightens by exfoliating the skin to improve tone and texture, removing dead skin cells that can make skin appear dull. It’s antioxidant-rich to protect and revitalize skin, and can soothe redness due to its anti-inflammatory properties.
Find it in: Moon Boost Serum
Raspberry Seed Oil
Raspberry seed oil contains an incredible array of brightening benefits. It’s packed with protective antioxidants, rich in vitamin A which smooths and firms skin, contains ellagic acid which, as an antioxidant, can inhibit the melanogenesis process, and contains vitamin E, which is helpful for wound healing and can help minimize the appearance of scars. Vitamin E also stabilizes and increases the effectiveness of vitamin C. Raspberry seed oil soothes skin inflammation as well, helping contribute to an even, bright complexion.
Find it in: Face Glow, Jade Moon Serum, Moon Boost Serum
Niacinamide
Niacinamide is an antioxidant, brightening ingredient that also helps with acne, enlarged pores, and sebum production. Niacinamide encourages collagen and elastin production, leaving skin plumper and bouncier. It also brightens by inhibiting melanin production, helping with hyperpigmentation and dark spots. Niacinamide is considered a gentle superstar, so it’s great for sensitive skin because it strengthens your skin barrier and can soothe inflammation—it’s especially good for inflammation caused by breakouts because of its other acne fighting benefits.
Find it in: Aloe Milk Cleanser
Azelaic Acid
Azelaic acid is an antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, sebum balancing, and brightening exfoliant often found in cleansers and toners. It brightens by exfoliating away dead skin cells, calming and evening out redness, reducing inflammation, and reducing hyperpigmentation. It’s especially ideal for people who deal with acne and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation caused by breakouts.
Find it in: Face Foam
Turmeric
Turmeric is best known for its incredible anti-inflammatory abilities—both topically and when ingested.
That’s why it’s a great skincare ingredient for acne and skin conditions that often come with chronic skin inflammation like psoriasis and atopic dermatitis (eczema).
But beyond this, turmeric is also a fantastic brightening ingredient because the curcumin in it can inhibit the production of melanin in the skin, allowing any hyperpigmentation or discolouration caused by skin damage to fade.
Find it in: Jade Moon Serum, Putty
Brighten Your Skin (and Your Day)
The best brightening skincare products contain gentle, effective ingredients and feel genuinely relaxing and enjoyable to use. That’s why we designed our products to do just that.
If you’re looking for brightening products that also nourish and support the health and longevity of your skin, we recommend Moon Boost Serum and Face Glow. Both contain brightening ingredients and are designed to be multi-beneficial, offering a holistic approach to caring for your skin. Plus, Face Glow gives your skin an instant highlighting and blurring effect thanks to the reflective mica in the formula!
You can shop Face Glow here and Moon Boost here.
Cheers to bright, radiant skin! 🥂
