I Used Eurcerin’s Anti-Pigment Thiamidol Skin Care Range for 12 Weeks and Here Is What Happened

It’s been a couple of years since I had a TCA Chemical Peel, and since then, my facial pigmentation problems have returned. Recently I tried The Ordinary’s Retinol for 6 Months, but it didn’t have much effect on my pigmentation. Over the years I have tried a variety of skin care products aimed at improving pigmentation, but generally I have found that they have limited effect. Therefore, I was keen to try Eurcerin’s new range of anti-pigmentation range of skincare products which feature Thiamidol, a key active which they claim reduces melanin production. Before you comment – yes I do religiously wear a high spectrum sunscreen everyday, even in winter, and I also always wear a wide brimmed hat outside. But I do enjoy outdoor activities so my skin inevitably get sun exposure during the summer.

What is Thiamidol?

Tyrosinase inhibitors have been the focus of cosmetic research since it causes hyperpigmentation in human skin (as well as the browning reactions in damaged fruits). Tyrosinase inhibitors are considered safer than other pigmentation treatments such as hydroquinone, which has become popular in skin treatments but is banned in cosmetics in the EU. Thiamidol (isobutylamido thiazolyl resorcinol) has arisen from this research on Tyrosinase inhibitors.

What Research Supports the Efficacy of Thiamidol on Pigmentation?

On the Eucerin website they state that Thiamidol has been “clinically and dermatologically proven to reduce dark spots and prevent their re-appearance”. After a little digging I found the paper Effective Tyrosinase Inhibition by Thiamidol Results in Significant Improvement of Mild to Moderate Melasma which was published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. This study compared Thiamidol with hydroquinone in women with mild to moderate melasma. After 12 weeks, both treatments improved melasma severity and the Thiamidol treatment was found to be significantly better than hydroquinone. However, this study was sponsored by Beiersdorf, the company behind Eucerin, so this should be taken into consideration. Following this laboratory based study, Beiersdorf also sponsored a ‘real-world’ study Thiamidol containing treatment regimens in facial hyperpigmentation: An international multi‐centre approach consisting of a double‐blind, controlled, split‐face study and of an open‐label, real‐world study published in the International Journal of Cosmetic Science where they had users try their Thiamidol skin care range. They reported similar successful results to their lab based trials.

My 12 Week Eucerin Anti-Pigment Thiamidol Skin Care Trial

Firstly, I just want to add a reminder here that this is not a sponsored post, so this is my honest opinion and experience. We are all different, so my experience with these Eucerin Anti-Pigment Thiamidol skin care products may differ from yours.

Because the studies on Thiamidol had been run for a 12 week period, I decided to commit to using Eurcerin’s Anti-Pigment range for 12 weeks as well. I think that it is important to add that I tried this skin care over the autumn and winter months, so my skin would have naturally lightened during this period anyway since I live in the UK (known for its cold, dark and miserable winters), so this should be taken into consideration.

The Eucerin Ant-Pigment range has three main products including a day cream, serum, and night cream. They also have a Eucerin Anti-Pigment Spot Corrector product which I have tried previously, but it was absolutely useless and had no impact on my skin at all so I have not bothered to include that in my review.

Warning: Eucerin advise not to apply their Thiamidol products more that four times per day. 

Eucerin Anti-Pigment Dual Serum Thiamidol & Hyaluronic Acid 30ml

Eucerin Anti-Pigment Dual Serum contains two separate serums within the same bottle, those being Thiamidol and Hyaluronic Acid. The serum is supposed to be used once a day either before the day cream or before the night cream. One side is a creamy texture, the other is a clear gel. The serum itself was nice to use. It had very little smell and it didn’t take long to absorb into the skin. I applied it in the morning, leaving it a few minutes to absorb before applying the day cream. I found these two products worked well together.

I found the dispenser frustrating to use as you can’t control how much comes out, and it comes out in a large dollop. Users have left negative product reviews about this serum because one of the serums stops coming out. Other users advise that if this happens, to block the hole of the cream that is coming out leaving the other unblocked and to pump it several times to encourage it to come out again.

I noticed on the Eucerin website it advises to ‘press the middle of the dispenser to ensure even release of both serums’. I didn’t initially have any problems with the dispenser, but when it was running low, the clear gel serum did end up running out about a week before the creamy one.

Another issue with the serum was the small size compared to the day and night cream. The serum is only 30ml and the day and night creams are 50ml, which inevitably meant that the serum ran out long before the face creams. This was exacerbated by the fact that the serum was dispensed in large amounts. The serum actually ran out about a week before my 12 week trial was even finished. If Eucerin is reading this, then please increase the serum size to 50ml!

Ingredients

Aqua, Alcohol Denat, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Octocrylene, Isopropyl Palmitate, Cetearyl Isononanoate, Distarch Phosphate, Methylpropanediol, Isobutylamido Thiazolyl Resorcinol, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Glycyrrhiza Inflata Root Extract, Tocopherol, Glucosylrutin, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Glyceryl Stearate, Sodium Polyacrylate, Dimethicone, Isoquercitrin, Citric Acid, Sodium Chloride, Trisodium EDTA, Caprylyl Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Parfum.

Eucerin Anti-Pigment Face Cream SPF 30 for all skin types 50ml

The Eucerin Anti-Pigment Face Cream features an SPF 30 sunscreen alongside the Thiamidol. Often day creams with sunscreens can often be a bit heavy and greasy but surprisingly, this face cream wasn’t. The pump on the bottle made it easy to control the amount that was squeezed out of it. The cream was a creamy colour and was easy to apply and quickly absorbed into my skin. It didn’t have any strong fragrance to it, so I did not find it offensive at all. My skin is on the dry side, and this cream moisturised it very well, but I really appreciated applying the serum underneath it to add some extra moisture. When the serum ran out before the day cream and I had to use it on its own, I did feel that my skin felt like it needed a little more moisture, especially as this was during winter. But this may not be an issue for others with less dry skin.

Ingredients

Aqua, Homosalate, Alcohol Denat, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, Ethylhexyl Salicylate, Ethylhexyl Triazone, Bis-Ethylhexyloxyphenol Methoxyphenyl Triazine, Butylene Glycol Dicaprylate-Dicaprate, Tapioca Starch, Distarch Phosphate, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Phenylbenzimidazole Sulfonic Acid, Isobutylamido Thiazolyl Resorcinol, Glycyrrhiza Inflata Root Extract, Tocopherol, Glucosylrutin, Isoquercitrin, Glycerin, Cetyl Alcohol, Stearyl Alcohol, Sodium Chloride, Xanthan Gum, Carbomer, Sodium Hydroxide, Glyceryl Stearate, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Dimethicone, Phenoxyethanol, Trisodium EDTA, Parfum.

Eucerin Anti-Pigment Face Night Cream for all skin types 50ml

Eucerin Anti-Pigment Face Night Cream also contains Dexpanthenol alongside the Thiamidol. Dexpanthenol is used as a moisturiser and Eucerin state it is an active ingredient that supports skin regeneration overnight. The night cream is similar in texture to the day cream, but is whiter in colour. It is moisturising without being heavy and greasy like some night creams are. It has little to no smell and it absorbed quickly and easily.

Ingredients

Aqua, Glycerin, Isopropyl Palmitate, Alcohol Denat, Cetearyl Isononanoate, Squalane, Panthenol, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Hydrogenated Coco-Glycerides, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter, Methylpropanediol, Lauroyl Lysine, Isobutylamido Thiazolyl Resorcinol, Glycyrrhiza Inflata Root Extract, Tocopherol, Glucosylrutin, Carbomer, Chondrus Crispus Extract, Sodium Hydroxide, Isoquercitrin, Trisodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Parfum

Effect of Eucerin Anti-Pigment Thiamidol Skin Care Range on My Pigmentation

I used the Eucerin Anti-Pigment products continuously for 12 weeks – actually I continued to use them until they ran out because I really did enjoy using them. They really are great facial moisturisers. However, the effect on my pigmentation was very slow. I appreciate that it can take time, so I was patient. At the very end of the 12 weeks my pigmentation, which was particularly bad around my cheeks, had finally appeared to improve. As I commented earlier, my skin generally lightens during the winter months anyway, so it was hard to establish what the full impact was. However, when I compared the before and after photos the Eucerin Anti-Pigment skin cream did appear to fade the pigmentation. Since the change was slow, it wasn’t initially obvious to me that it was there was any improvement, so I definitely recommend you take your own before and after photos so you can see if it has made a difference on your skin.

In conclusion, there was a lightening of the pigmentation on my face, definitely more than when I used The Ordinary Retinol. Although it wasn’t as dramatic as a stronger treatment such as a chemical peel, it was much cheaper, less painful and I didn’t have to deal with a peeling face and the down time. If you are going to try this product, then my advice is to be patient and take your own before and after photos so you can have a clear view of how your skin has improved. If you have tried the Eucerin Anti-Pigment skin care range, then I would really love to hear about your experience in the comments below.