Skin whitening or skin lightening refers to the process of lightening skin tone thereby providing skin complexion by reducing the melanin concentration in the skin. All organisms, from simple invertebrates to complex human beings, exist in different colours and patterns, which arise from the unique distribution of pigments throughout the body.

Skin consist of three layers they are as Epidermis (50-100µm), Dermis (1-2mm) and Hypodermis (1-2mm). The most superficial layer of epidermis is stratum corneum which act as a permeability barrier and protects the skin against abrasive action and micro-organism.

Melanin is a pigment produced by melanocytes, the cells of the epidermis layer. Eumelanin is the most common form of melanin and is brown in colour, followed by pheomelanin which is reddish brown in colour which associated to reddish colour for hair.