Glutathione
Also known as: gsh, l-glutathione, reduced-glutathione
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
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 โ it shifts melanin synthesis from darker eumelanin toward lighter pheomelanin over 8โ12 weeks of use. K-beauty has run with this harder than anyone: APLB, Medicube, and Numbuzin all formulate around it. The catch is stability โ 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.
Sources
- [1]Topical glutathione for skin brightening review โ View source






