Formulation Review Report | Project B UV White
Product Studied: Project B UV White Dermal Brightening System
Introduction
We at Project B emphasize on being bare and transparent of our product ingredient and formulation. We have an extensive product development stage, carefully engineer every product to ensure they work. As a part of our groundwork, we reach out to a number of independent professionals for a blind test to compare the nutritional information and ingredients of our formula with the available brands in the market.
Under this review, we reached out to independent pharmacist to compare the nutritional information and ingredients of products from three other brands: Kinohimitsu, Hakubi and Project B, to see if there was any way to improve it. This was a blind test, that Kinohimitsu's, Hakubi's and Project B's names are never disclosed during the creation of the reviews. The pharmacist was not paid or given anything to endorse any of these products.
This product has been studied and fine-tuned for over 29 months before the formulation is confirmed. We took another 6 months to test Its efficacy profile on over 42 individuals before it is being delivered to you. This part of the report reviews the product formulation, where we have another part of the report displays the results of the efficacy profile.
The results in brief
Rank 1: Project B UV White Dermal Brightening System
Rank 2: Kinohimitsu ProWhite
Rank 3: Hakubi White C Plus
Who are the formulators
This is a continuation of work with Dr Iko and her team of researchers, whom the team has also developed one of our product, Project B Hydrolyzed Biomarine Collagen Peptide 5,000mg. Dr Iko has developed strong interests in skin health, women health and joint health back in year 2005. She has also published her work to over 40 journals and 6 textbooks.
Here, we took over 29 months to finalize the product formula, where each ingredients at their optimum effective dose, can work synergistically for better product efficacy profile.
Who have we approached
We wanted to carry out a fair review of our product formula, so we have invited Ms. LW Teoh, an independent pharmacist with over 4 years of working experience in the retail pharmacies setting, where she is believed to have the best access of understanding functional health products in the market.
What is Pharmacist
Pharmacists are qualified medication experts who use their detailed knowledge of medicines to ensure the quality of medicines supplied to patients. Pharmacists are responsible in dispensing medications, assuring the safety and appropriateness of the prescribed therapy and within the law; monitoring patient health and progress to achieve the best medication results; at the same time, providing education and advice on the use of prescription and over-the-counter medications.
Pharmacists are statutorily regulated, with a protected title and governed by an ethical code, to ensure that they always work to the highest standard. The spectrum of environments in which pharmacists practice is broad and includes the government practice, private practice, industry, education, research, publishing and non-government organisations. Their advice influences healthcare policy across the spectrum from government to local communities and individuals.
The title 'pharmacist' can only be used by those appropriately trained professionals who have registered with the Pharmacy Board of Malaysia and whose details are on the official portal of pharmaceutical services program: ministry of health Malaysia website.
What have been evaluated
The nutritional information and ingredients of products from three other brands: Kinohimitsu, Hakubi and Project B are compared and evaluated.
The information we provided for review
Below shows the information the pharmacist was provided:
It was a totally blind test. The pharmacist was paid for her time producing the reviews, but not to endorse or favour any product. The reviews below aren't perfect, and we are the first to admit such. However, LW Teoh is expert in her field, highly professional and have provided some great insights to highlight between the three products.
The results
The following review produced have not been edited or altered in any sense, it is the original piece that the independent pharmacist has provided. This review is conducted based on 3 brands: Hakubi (Product A), Kinohimitsu (Product B), Project B (Product C)
Pharmacist: Teoh L.W (Ms)
At the first glance, these 3 products share the same ingredient characteristics, they either have L-Cysteine, L-Glutathione, or both, as their top functional ingredients. Since this blinded review does not disclose more product information other than the list I have been provided, and the main ingredients (L-Glutathione and L-Cysteine) are popular for skin whitening which has been widely used as supplement for pigmentations and scars reduction, I will pen my review with the assumption that these 3 products are targeted for skin lightening and general skin health/beauty.
Product B's long ingredient list captured my attention, though I hope it can have a lot less inactive/non-functional ingredients, like the fillers, sugars, flavorings, which have been listed on the top 8 and carry the highest weightage/percentage in the product and formula. It does have many good ingredients too, like L-Glutathione, the vitamins & mineral, and several other functional ingredients. Overall, this product does have a good portfolio. On the other hand, Product A's ingredient list is the shortest and simplest. L-Cysteine as their main ingredient, is mainly served as a precursor to L-Glutathione. In a simpler word, L-Cysteine (inactive) is required to be converted to L-Glutathione (active) to carry out the skin lightening activities. Hence, with that, the successful conversion rate to L-Glutathione is still unknown. L-Cysteine certainly helps stimulate the production of glutathione, but if it is being compared, I would favor the more readily available L-Glutathione functional molecule. Moving on to Product C, the functional ingredient profile first feels like it is some sort in between Product A and Product B, better than Product A but lesser vitamins than Product B. But after a deeper look and better dissected, Product C with both L-Glutathione and L-Cysteine, when paired together, is believed to have a longer and sustainable duration of action. Please read further as to how Product C can have a longer skin lightening activity when compared with Product A and B.
For example, purely as illustration for better understanding:
Assumption 1: L-Glutathione can work for 4hour before it is before expelled from the system
Assumption 2: 100% L-Cysteine converts to 50% L-Glutathione
Product A: 100% L-Cysteine converts to 50% L-Glutathione > 4hr Functional Action > Excreted
Hypothesis: Less active/functional molecules for 4 hours of action
Product B: 100% L-Glutathione > 4hr Functional Action > Excreted
Hypothesis: Full functional molecules for 4 hours of action
Product C: 100% 100% L-Glutathione > 4hr Functional Action + 100% L-Cysteine converts to 50% L-Glutathione > 4hr Functional Action > Excreted
Hypothesis: Full functional molecules for 4+ longer hours of action
With that, I favor Product C greatest. Other than the two L-Glutathione and L-Cysteine functional ingredients, their formula is also paired with vitamins and several extracts popular for skin health. To conclude this formulation review, I would rank Product C as first for the clean formula profile with no fillers/sugars/flavorings and certainly their functional profile as heavily illustrated above. Followed by, Product B and later Product A, as Product B offers a better functional profile than Product A, although users who consume daily should take note on the sugar intake to avoid weight gaining and other health issues like diabetes.
Author's Note: We had no contact with LW before the test was conducted, and she had never heard of Project B until after the results were gathered. These results were entirely independent and blind on her behalf.