Kojie San Lightening Soap

I have been using the Kojie San brand of Kojic Acid on and off for over 5 years now.  My friend introduced me to the product back in 2008.  I had just gotten back from a week stay at the beach.  Since I have Asian skin, instead of getting sun burnt and all red, I became a darker shade of brown.

Back then, it was a relatively new product and I had never even heard of Kojic Acid.  There were already over a hundred skin lightening soaps and lotions available in the market, but a lot of them promoted their main ingredient to contain “papaya extracts" - also a very effect skin lightening agent.   According to Wikipedia, “Kojic acid is a by-product in the fermentation process of malting rice, for use in the manufacturing of sake, the Japanese rice wine.”  Moreover, “It is a mild inhibitor of the formation of pigment in plant and animal tissues, and is used in food and cosmetics to preserve or change colors of substances.”

My friend told me it was very effective when she first tried it.  She too got dark from frequent beach outings.  So her nightly regime involved lathering her face with the soap and leaving it on for about a minute or two, followed by a full rinse.  After two to three days, she described how she could “wipe off” the “burnt skin” with a towel and see a lighter shade.  Convinced, I decided to try it.

I recall buying it at Mercury Drugstore at a price much higher than what it is currently selling for at present.  The Kojie San brand had other products available as well.  I bought the lightening soap and the lightening lotion.  So that night, I followed the procedure that my friend had advised.  Within one week, I could see a difference.  I was very happy with the soap that I didn’t really use the lotion anymore.  My only complain was that if the soap was not carefully dried after use, there would be orange leak stains all over my bathroom.

As I initially mentioned, I have been using the Kojie San Lightening soap on and off.  For two years (2010 and 2011), I didn’t use the product because my personal stock ran out in the US and it was too expensive to purchase on Ebay.  When I returned to the Philippines in 2012, I bought the Kojie San Lightening soap again.  I was surprised because it was now cheaper and sold everywhere.  I also noticed the following differences:

1)  After lathering the soap onto my face and leaving it on for a minute (like I did before), I started to feel a slight burning sensation.  So I immediately rinsed it off.  I don’t know if anyone else has experienced this, but it seems the formulation of the Kojic Acid is more potent for faster results.
2)  The Lightening soap is still effective. I did notice within 10 days that my skin had gradually lightened.  However, I noticed and friends and family noticed as well, that certain areas of my face looked “blotchy.”  Uneven and lighter in some areas.
3)  After washing my face, my skin would become really dry.
4)  I started peeling around my nose after a day or two of use.
5)  I tried to apply the lightening soap only on areas where I had acne scars from a pimple, hoping that it would fade away the brown spots.  It didn’t work, it seemed to only made the scar worse.

Despite having a different experience with this “new” version of the Kojie San Lightening Soap, I still use the product.  Not so much on my face, but more on my body.  I figure the skin around my arms and legs are not as thin, therefore, less sensitive.  I got stung by jellyfish in 2009 and the accident left really bad scars on my legs.  However, the keloid scars seemed to have disappeared with the use of the Kojie San kojic acid soap.  It also has lightened the area on my legs where I have stretch marks from rapid weight loss.

Over all, I think the Kojie San Lightening Soap is a good product.  It is also very affordable in the Philippines.  The small two 65g bar package costs only 50 Philippine Pesos  (about 1 US Dollar and 25 cents).  The big two 135g bar package costs only 102 Philippine Pesos (about 2 US Dollars and 50 cents).
To purchase this product in the United States, is a completely different story.  It is insane how sellers on Ebay are selling the Kojie San two 135g bar package for $15.  And I find it even more insane that buyers will actually buy at that price!!