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Tranexamic Acid
Tranexamic Acid · Cetyl Tranexamate MesylateActive
A brightener for melasma and stubborn dark patches. Often used with vitamin C and niacinamide.
What it does
It quiets a signal that switches on pigment cells, a step earlier than most brighteners work. On skin it matched hydroquinone in melasma trials; against a placebo the evidence is split. Expect a modest change over 12 weeks, with daily sunscreen.
The EU’s ingredient database lists it as a skin conditioner, its general term for an ingredient that keeps skin in good condition.European Commission, CosIng (© European Union, CC BY 4.0) · uses put in plain words by Drop ↗
The evidence, graded
strongTopical tranexamic acid is studied on a 12-week clock, read at weeks 4, 8 and 12. Its two sources disagree: a network meta-analysis found the topical form separating from placebo from week 8 onward, while the one placebo-controlled split-face trial found 5% no better than its own vehicle gel, with more redness where it was applied. The oral form, available only by prescription, acts faster — though over the full course that analysis found route made no difference for tranexamic acid alone.Liang 2024 · Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology ↗ expert consensusFine together — none of these three reviews reports tranexamic acid clashing with vitamin C, niacinamide or a retinoid, though none tested those pairs. The one review that measured tranexamic acid added to a treatment was testing the tablet in 93.1% of its patients, not a serum.Kim 2017 · Acta Dermato-Venereologica ↗ Graded per the methodology: strong · moderate · emerging · expert consensus. A weak source on a strong claim gets the weaker label.
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