What skin types is Glutathione best for?

Glutathione is particularly well-suited to dullness, hyperpigmentation, mature skin.

What ingredients pair well with Glutathione?

Glutathione layers well with vitamin c, niacinamide, alpha arbutin. These combinations are common in K-beauty routines and have no known negative interactions.

How strong is the evidence for Glutathione?

We rate the clinical evidence for Glutathione at 3/5 — moderate. Topical 2–5% is the useful range. Oral and IV glutathione are separate rabbit holes with thinner evidence.

BrightenerOverhyped

Glutathione

Also known as: gsh, l-glutathione, reduced-glutathione

3/5— Moderate Evidence

Medically reviewed by ChokChok · Updated April 21, 2026

The master antioxidant your liver makes. Topically it's a gentle brightener; orally it's a wellness-industrial complex. K-beauty glow-up in a bottle, if the bottle is stabilised.

What It Does

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Deep Dive

Glutathione is a tripeptide (cysteine, glycine, glutamate) your liver produces endogenously as its main detox and redox-balance workhorse. Topically it's a tyrosinase inhibitor — it shifts melanin synthesis from darker eumelanin toward lighter pheomelanin over 8–12 weeks of use. K-beauty has run with this harder than anyone: APLB, Medicube, and Numbuzin all formulate around it. The catch is stability — reduced glutathione oxidises fast in open air, so the serums that work are the ones in airless or single-dose packaging. The oral and IV versions that get marketed heavily in Asia have much thinner evidence than topical. Not a hydroquinone replacement, but a genuinely useful daily brightener stacked on top of niacinamide or vitamin C.