If you ask me to choose a skincare range out of the many, whitening is definitely the one. Typically, Asians are into whitening but there are also a group of people that are not. I started to dip my toes into whitening / brightening because I’m most self-conscious about acne marks. I’ve known about collagen supplements and all but when I received an invitation to attend the launch of Crystal Tomato® Plus, one-a-day skin whitening supplement, I have to go. I’ve never heard about whitening supplement before and I’m seriously interested!

Crystal Tomato® Plus, originally known as Crystal Tomato® at everywhere else in the world is rebranded locally to Crystal Tomato® Plus due to the requirement from National Pharmaceutical Control Bureau (NPCB) and Ministry of Health Malaysia. It is made from Natural and Pure freeze-dried Crystal Tomato® Powder and are free of preservatives. It contain Crystal Tomato® Carotenoids, one of nature’s most effective whitening ingredients, which are the first molecules produced in the sequence process in the tomato plant to create carotenoids, which primarily function as anti-oxidants.

Unlike orange or red carotenoids, which change the colour of the skin to a tan or orange shade when consumed in large amounts, Crystal Tomato® Carotenoids do not contain any visible colour and will not affect the colour of the skin.

Crystal Tomato® Carotenoids when consumed attach to the skin. They are the carotenoids to protect the skin in the following ways:

• Serve as natural sunscreen against UVA/B to protect against UV damage, photo-oxidation and sunburn.
• Act as anti-oxidants to protect against free radical damage caused by environmental aggressors.
• Have anti-inflammatory properties against wounds and UV damage.
• Inhibit melanin synthesis to prevent pigmentation spots from forming.
• Reduce the melanin present in the cells including dark acne scars, freckles, dark underarms and age spots.

Interestingly, I found out that Crystal Tomato® Plus are only made from tomato and nothing else beside a few added ingredients. What’s even more interesting is that each Crystal Tomato® Plus caplet contains 800mg Crystal Tomato® Carotenoids, which equivalent to consuming 3 fresh Crystal Tomatoes a day. Many questions about the harm in consuming such supplement because let’s face it, whitening supplement sounds a bit scary. I learnt from Dr. Alain Khaiat, Crystal Tomato® Plus Consultant that there is no harm in consuming the product as it’s made from tomato. He also added that so far in the whole world there is no report made against allergies to tomato. So it is safe to consume.

Crystal Tomato® Plus also contain a few more other ingredients such as L-Cysteine, an amino acid present in our body. It is included in the supplement to increase the efficacy of Crystal Tomato® Plus. This is one of the few amino acids that are able to bond in a special way to maintain the structure of proteins in the body and help in the formation of collagen, hence promoting healthy skin. L-Cysteine also helps to boost the liver’s production of Gluthatione, commonly referred to as the body’s master anti-oxidant. Without Gluthatione, cells will die at a faster rate, leading to quicker ageing. Gluthatione also has the ability to lighten dark skin and pigmentation, by altering the melanocytes’ metabolic processes to produce light pink melanin instead of dark or black melanin. Gluthatione is commonly found in oral supplements. It is not absorbed when taken orally and has no effect on the skin. By including L-Cysteine, a natural precursor of Glutathione in Crystal Tomato® Plus, the natural mechanisms in the body are activated to produce its own Glutathione to improve the appearance of the skin.

In a controlled clinical study in France, the following results were reported:

• After taking Crystal Tomato® carotenoids, 65% of the volunteers had their natural skin SPF increased by 20% after 12 weeks.
• Skin was also improved in term of dryness, roughness, suppleness, tone evenness and texture in 50 to 100% of the subjects

I thought I was there for the whitening supplement but looks like I was in for another surprise. Crystal Clear™ Skin Clarity Cream, a new benchmark whitening cream product to effectively help the reduction of melasma, dark spots and other pigmentation problems. It is possibly the first single topical treatment for melasma that has been proven to deliver significant results.

A randomized double-blind study using the combination therapy of Crystal Clear™ and Crystal Tomato® Plus supplement was conducted at the National Skin Centre, Singapore from October 2013 to May 2014, where the study involved 44 patients with Melasma phototype III and IV. The result from the study shows that after just 56 days, among the patients that used Crystal Clear™ Skin Clarity Cream, 68.4% showed a remarkable improvement of more than 25% in Melasma Index (mMASI) scores, and after 84 days, 31.6% of patients showed a staggering 50% improvement in mMASI scores.

The improvements are even more dramatic for those who were given the combination therapy of Crystal Clear™ topical cream and Crystal Tomato® Plus one-a-day supplement – with 76.5% showing more than 25% improvement after 56 days, and 53% showing more than 50% improvement after 84 days. The fact that 95% of these patients had previously undergone the industry “gold standard” triple therapy without achieving the desired outcome that they were hoping for.

Other results have also shown that continuous application leads to the reduction of existing skin spots of melanin origin and other skin hyperchromia. All this is certainly good news for those who have long been suffering from pigmentation problems. Yet, this remarkably simple cream continues to impress as the new benchmark for management of various facial pigmentation:

• It is ideal for all skin types, safe and gentle for daily use • It does not contain hydroquinone or any harsh whitening agent.
• It has Anti-Oxidant and Anti-Inflammatory properties to promote good skin health and protects against formation of new melanin spots.
• Contains UVA/UVB filters to prevent the UV stimulation of melanocyte.
• It does not leave skin dry and irritated and won’t cause skin thinning over prolong use.
• Made in EU (Spain).

The main that everyone would want to know is, how long does it take to see the whitening effect? The answer is 3 months aka 3 boxes of Crystal Tomato® Plus. Each box contain 30 caplets, which will last you for a full month. It is also advisable to consume on the same time everyday. However, users are advised to continue to consume as a “maintenance’ routine. When stopped, the effect will gradually disappear.

The post Introducing Crystal Tomato® Plus, one-a-day skin whitening supplement and Crystal Clear™ Clarity Cream appeared first on Street Love. by Fiona