124 JOURNAL OF COSMETIC SCIENCE CONCLUSION Using KA alone or in a therapeutic combination significantly reduces the severity of spots and improves the quality of life associated with melasma. Even though it presents good results when used in isolation, the association with GA, arbutin, HQ, and vitamin C generates more promising results. The pharmaceutical form and frequency of application are well elucidated for gel, cream, or serum for nocturnal application. In addition, treatment should be continuous, as melasma tends to go into remission. The KA concentration has not been established because it was reported from 0.75% to 6% for daily application. Further studies should be carefully elaborated using all specific analysis methods for melasma, MASI, mMASI, MI, and MELASQol, generating robustness and comparability among clinical trials. AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS Rayane Vieira Brasil: conceptualization, methodology, software, investigation, data curation, writing—original draft preparation, formal analysis, writing—reviewing and editing Jenifer Brasil dos Santos: conceptualization, methodology, software, investigation, data curation, writing—original draft preparation, formal analysis, writing— reviewing and editing Vânia Emerich Bucco de Campos: methodology, investigation, supervision, validation, writing—reviewing and editing Elisabete Pereira dos Santos: conceptualization, investigation, writing—original draft preparation, writing—reviewing and editing Zaida Maria Faria de Freitas: project administration, methodology, investigation, data curation, supervision, validation, formal analysis, writing—reviewing and editing. FUNDING SOURCES None ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We would like to thank University Pharmacy, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, for their support in development of the paper. REFERENCES (1) Tosti A, Grimes PE, De Padova MP. Color Atlas of Chemical Peels. Springer 2006. Accessed March 6, 2023. DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-20270-4. (2) Desai S, Ayres E, Bak H, Effect of a tranexamic acid, kojic acid, and niacinamide containing serum on facial dyschromia: A clinical evaluation. J Drugs Dermatol. 2019 18(5):454–459. Accessed March 6, 2023. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31141852/ (3) McKesey J, Tovar-Garza A, Pandya AG. Melasma treatment: An evidence-based review. Am J Clin Dermatol. 2020 21(2):173–225. DOI: 10.1007/s40257-019-00488-w. (4) Austin EBS, Nguyen JKM, Jagdeo JMM. Topical treatments for melasma: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. J Drugs Dermatol. 2019 18(11):1156. Accessed March 6, 2023. https:// pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31741361/.

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