Kojic acid is a fine white powdery substance composed of tiny
crystals. The formal discovery of kojic acid occurred in 1989,
and since then, the substance has been used widely in skin care
products due to its numerous benefits. The ingredient is
obtained from mushrooms that are native to Japan and is a by-
product of the fermentation process used to produce the
alcoholic beverage sake. In skin care products, kojic acid
functions primarily as a skin-lightening agent. To understand
kojic acid's effects, it is necessary to understand how the skin
gets it color. The body naturally produces a pigment known as
melanin through specialized cells known as melanocytes. A
person's genes determine how much melanin the body naturally
produces. In people with fair skin, only small amounts of
melanin are manufactured by the melanocytes, while copious
amounts of the pigment are made by the cells of those with dark
complexions. The production of melanin in the skin does not
occur in fixed amounts. Often, the cells produce more