I really, really like philosophy^® products.  They’re usually good to great in efficacy, typically feature a revolutionary ingredients, and the packaging!  Oh, how I love their wise, witty, anecdotal packaging.  But I digress. philosophy® Miracle Worker® Dark Spot Corrector is no exception to the “Love it” rule.

First of all, it features two of my all-time favorite ingredients, vitamins C and E, in not only high concentration, but unique concentration.   As long-time readers of my blog know, vitamins C and E work as network antioxidants, reinforcing one another, with vitamin C enhancing UVA protection and vitamin E increasing UVB protection (Acta dermatologica venearologica, 1996).  Vitamin C is included as new ingredients tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate and ascorbyl linoleate, which are more photostable forms of vitamin C than L-ascorbic acid (Epilution, 2011).  Vitamin E is pre-stabilized tocopherol ferulate, a clever play on the popular stabilized “CE Ferulic.”

Second of all, philosophy® Miracle Worker® Dark Spot Corrector contains a high concentration of niacinamide, another long-time favorite ingredient of mine.  (Is philosophy reading minds now?!)  Niacinamide reduces the appearance of dark spots, fine lines and wrinkles, rosacea, and sallowness (Dermatologic Surgery, 2006).    What’s more, unlike other hyperpigmentation treatments, niacinamide is extremely hydrating.  It has been discovered 2% niacinamide is more effective than petrolatum (Vaseline) in reducing water loss from skin and increasing its moisture levels (International Journal of Dermatology, 2002). This is extremely telling, as Dr. Leslie Baumann M.D. says, “Petrolatum is one of the most occlusive moisturizing ingredients known…it is often the gold standard to which other occlusive ingredients are compared” (Cosmetic Dermatology, 2002).

Third and lastly, philosophy® Miracle Worker® Dark Spot Corrector contains soybean extract.  OMG!  :-)  Soy extract first became popular in skin care in 2004, when Johnson and Johnson purchased rights to the ingredient from the AMBI brand.  One potent type of isoflavone contained in soy is genistein, which has been shown in numerous research studies not only to reduce hyperpigmentation when used twice daily for two weeks, but also to exhibit both anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, to stimulate the production of collagen and hyaluronic acid in human fibroblasts cultured in vitro, and to even reduce the number of hair follicles (dermal papillae) on the skin!   (Photochemistry and Photobiology, 2005; Dermatology, 2000).   So am I ultra enthusiastic about philosophy® Miracle Worker® Dark Spot Corrector?  You betcha!  Unfortunately, as per usual, there is one caveat…

Not to be Used on Darker Skin!

I think philosophy® scientists got so enthusiastic designing this hardcore anti-hyperpigmentation product that they threw everything into the pot except hydroquinone, which has been shown to cause paradoxical darkening of the skin of patients with darker skin types, in a phenomenon known as ochronosis.  Unfortunately, another ingredient in philosophy® Miracle Worker® Dark Spot Corrector, resorcinol, has also been shown to cause ochronosis in patients with darker skin types (Journal of Dermatological Treatment, 1997; American Journal of Clinical Dermatology, 2001).  The effect typically appears after six months continual resorcinol use, with the highest reported incidence in South African Blacks.  The mechanism involves effects on tyrosinase or alternatively by inhibiting homogentistic acid oxidase, resulting in local deposition of pigment (Dermatology Online Journal, 2008). Ochronosis is extremely rare in patients who do not have dark skin.  In general, it is very rare, and I certainly do not mean to alarm anyone.  I would, however, not use philosophy® Miracle Worker® Dark Spot Corrector if I had dark skin, nor would I use any other product containing hydroquinone, resorcinol, or phenol (Dermatology Online Journal, 2008).

Bottom Line

philosophy® Miracle Worker® Dark Spot Corrector is a beautiful product for hyperpigmentation, with some of my favorite lightening, brightening ingredients:  stabilized vitamin C and E; niacinamide; soy extract.  Yet the inclusion of resorcinol in philosophy® Miracle Worker® Dark Spot Corrector makes me loath to recommend it to any of my friends with darker skin tones, particularly those of South African descent.  If the company would just take out the resorcinol, I’d make this product an all-time favorite!  Product Rating: 9/10 (High or optimized concentration of proven effective ingredients: 2/3 [-1 for resorcinol].  Unique formulation or new technology: 3/3.  Value for the money: 3/3.  Sunscreen/sunscreen-boosting: 1/1).

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• Five Skin Care Ingredients Your Skin Can’t Live Without – And How to Use Them
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Ingredients in philosophy® Miracle Worker® Dark Spot Corrector 

Water/Aqua/Eau, Glycerin, Cetyl Alcohol, Behenyl Alcohol, Niacinamide, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Cetearyl Olivate, Hexyldecanol, Sorbitan Olivate, Butylene Glycol, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Ascorbyl Linoleate, Undecylenoyl Phenylalanine, Hexylresorcinol, Phenylethyl Resorcinol, Resveratrol, Tocopheryl Ferulate, Ethyl Linoleate, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cychohexasiloxane, Ethylhexylglycerin, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Sterols, Safflower Glyceride, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Hydrogenated Palm Glycerides, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Rumex Occidentalis Extract, Brassica Campestris (Rapeseed) Sterols, Tocopheryl Acetate, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Linoleic Acid, Phospholipids, Bisabolol, Cetylhydroxyproline Palmitamide, Arginine, Heptapeptide-12, Beta-Glucan, Retinyl Palmitate, Lysolecithin, Methyl Dihydroxybenzoate, Disodium Edta, Stearic Acid, Xanthan Gum, Chlorphenesin, Phenoxyethanol.