Alpha arbutin at Cham

Alpha arbutin is a tone-evening ingredient that works by slowing tyrosinase, the enzyme that sets the pace of new pigment production. Slower production means the marks skin is already carrying get replaced, over cycles, by skin made under calmer conditions. It is gradual by mechanism, not by formulation failure.

In the Cham range it appears in exactly one product: the Brightening Face Mask, a weekly step where it sits alongside niacinamide and two stabilised forms of vitamin C, three different points on the same pigment pathway. It is not in the serum, cream, wash or lotion, and we would rather say that plainly here than let it be assumed.

Read before using it

The full explainer covers mechanism, concentration and evidence, including where the evidence thins. Side effects separates the documented from the rumoured, including the hydroquinone question. With niacinamide explains the pairing, and against kojic acid is the honest comparison, including why we chose the gentler of the two.

If pigmentation is deep, spreading or long-standing, a dermatologist is the efficient first step. A cosmetic mask is a supporting measure, and for melasma in particular that distinction matters.