The INKEY List Alpha Arbutin 2%: a Guru Score of 80%

What the gurus are saying.

Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

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Dr. Vanita Rattan

1.23M subs

✓Yay

"So for example, if you want to start off cheap, start off with the inky list or the ordinary for alpha arbit."

All 2 takes from Dr. Vanita Rattan

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"Or from the inky list"

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"So for example, if you want to start off cheap, start off with the inky list or the ordinary for alpha arbit."

No BS Beauty

89k subs

✓Yay

"The inky list Alpha arbutin serum"

Doctor Anne

56k subs

✓Yay

"The Inkey List offers a product with Alpha Arbutin, the Inkey List Alpha-Arbutin Serum, which I have tried and liked."

All 2 takes from Doctor Anne

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"I follow up with The Inkey List Alpha Arbutin Serum. Arbutin is like the weaker cousin of hydroquinone. I use alpha arbutin, which has less irritation potential, but is obviously due to that also less effective, and it targets production by inhibiting the Tyrosinase, but in a less potent way than vitamin C does. It also has Squalane, which means that if your skin is more on the oily side it could work as a moisturizer for you. For me it's not quite enough, which is why I follow up with again the Murad Nutrient Charged Water Gel."

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"The Inkey List offers a product with Alpha Arbutin, the Inkey List Alpha-Arbutin Serum, which I have tried and liked."

Nipun Kapur

409k subs

✓Yay

"Next comes your Alpha protein serum I am taking again a pea size amount by the inky list"

Hyram

4.34M subs

✓Yay

"If retinol isn't really doing it for you, I'd recommend the Inkey List alpha arbutin serum. This is a great, simple, and affordable product that will work to help fade the discoloration."

Dr. Shereene Idriss

1.72M subs

✓Yay

"The Inkey List also has an arbutin that is worth looking into for post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation."

All 2 takes from Dr. Shereene Idriss

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"For arbutin, you can get that one actually from The Inky List. I believe they have an arbutin product that they sell."

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"The Inkey List also has an arbutin that is worth looking into for post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation."

Doctorly

3.58M subs

✓Yay

"The Inkey List alpha arbutin is a good substitute for hydroquinone because they're sort of downstream of each other. Arbutin is very effective and has a similar mechanism to hydroquinone."

Cassandra Bankson

2.46M subs

✓Yay

"This one from the INKEY List is so good, so potent, I absolutely love it. Alpha arbutin is such a little hero ingredient that so many people don't pay attention to. Alpha arbutin is fantastic for pigmentation because of how it transforms itself into hydroquinone. Hydroquinone is what's prescribed by doctors and dermatologists."

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All 4 takes from Cassandra Bankson

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"This one from the INKEY List is so good, so potent, I absolutely love it. Alpha arbutin is such a little hero ingredient that so many people don't pay attention to. Alpha arbutin is fantastic for pigmentation because of how it transforms itself into hydroquinone. Hydroquinone is what's prescribed by doctors and dermatologists."

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"If you wanted other options there is the INKEY List, they have an alpha arbutin serum."

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"Alpha arbutin turns itself into hydroquinone inside of your skin. You can get this off a drugstore, you can get this at Sephora, you can get this wherever you get The Inkey List skincare. It works really well in topical formulas and it's much more gentle than the potent hydroquinone because Alpha arbutin is transformed by your skin into hydroquinone so you don't have to start and stop it in the same ways that hydroquinone requires."

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"Alpha Arbutin is a derivative of hydroquinone which we know is amazing and can be medically prescribed for those who want help with hyperpigmentation. It's more of a gentle version and acts as an antioxidant, but it also stops that pathway of pigment being able to be created. Alpha Arbutin works by inhibiting tyrosinase activity, that enzyme that's needed to create pigmentation. This one from The Inky List is really inexpensive and effective, and you can use this day or night. This is a fantastic serum that you can use in addition to vitamin C or in place of it."

What the evidence says.

Independent of what the gurus think, this is what the published research supports about the main active ingredients here.

Humectants and emollients

Ingredients like these draw water into the surface layers and slow how fast it leaves. The evidence is for comfort, softness and hydration rather than for changing the structure of the skin.

Source: DermNet

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is an antioxidant, and it is often in a formula to keep the other ingredients stable rather than as the active itself. It pairs well with vitamin C, though on its own the evidence for visible change is limited.

Source: NIH, National Library of Medicine

Frequently asked.

What is The INKEY List Alpha Arbutin 2%?

A lightweight serum formulated with alpha arbutin, designed to help address dark spots and uneven skin tone.

Is The INKEY List Alpha Arbutin 2% worth it?

Yes. All 8 gurus who reviewed it give it their stamp of approval, for a Guru Score of 80%.

What is The INKEY List Alpha Arbutin 2%'s Guru Score?

The INKEY List Alpha Arbutin 2% holds a Guru Score of 80%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 8 expert reviewers we have collected.