Kojic Acid SL is a tyrosinase inhibitor; and it chelates with metal ions. As a tyrosinase inhibitor, kojic acid was found to suppress isolated tyrosinase due to chelation of its copper. Kojic acid has been found useful as a melanin formation inhibitor, UV-induced hyperpigmentation preventive agent for the human skin.
Kojic Acid is the first well-received skin lightener after hydroquinone. It successfully fights age spots and pigmentation on face and body. It has increasingly been used as a skin-depigmenting agent in skin care products in Japan since 1988.