c-brightHydroquinone-free products are holding their own—and then some.

These relative newcomers were among the most dynamic performers in the US professional skin care market in 2014. Introduced by several leading manufacturers, non-hydroquinone-based products are driving sales in the hyperpigmentation/sun damage skin care concern category, according to the Professional Skin Care: US Market Analysis and Opportunities, from Kline & Company.

Sales for products addressing hyperpigmentation account for nearly one-quarter of total take-home product sales and grow faster than any other concern, including acne and aging, among others.

While hydroquinone (HQ) has been the gold standard ingredient in the physician-dispensed arena for the treatment of  hyperpigmentation, this ingredient is mired in controversy due to some of its reported side effects. Europe has banned HQ in concentrations greater than 1%. In the United States, it has been banned in New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Montana, and Texas.

As a result, brightening products featuring alternatives to HQ are on the rise.

Not long ago, Dr Zein Obagi sold his namesake company, which centered around HQ products. Now Obagi’s current company, ZO Skin Health, is leading the pack of HQ-free products with its C-Bright 10% Vitamin C Serum, BrightAlive Non-Retinol Skin Brightener, and most recently Brightamax, a full-body treatment. Joining the HQ-free movement, SkinMedica’s Lytera Skin Brightening Complex is responsible for some of the impressive sales gains the brand saw this year. Other prominent non-HQ products are Eminence Organics’ Bright Skin line, Neocutis’ Nouvelle + Retinol correction cream, and Jan Marini’s Age Intervention line, including Enlighten MD and Enlighten Plus.

“Baby Boomers are faced with hyperpigmentation issues caused by a variety of factors. This is resulting in an increased demand for skin-lightening or brightening topical products, as well as in-office laser and intense pulsed light treatments,” says Karen Doskow, director, consumer products practice at Kline, in a news release.

Sales for products addressing hyperpigmentation account for nearly one-quarter of total take-home product sales and grow faster than any other concern, including acne and aging, among others, the new report showed. Medical care providers are the main channel for hyperpigmentation products, comprising more than 70% of the total sales. The same channel also shows the most promise and is poised to become the leading distribution channel of professional skin care products, overtaking the spas and salons channel by 2019.

The analysis of Europe and China from the Global Professional Skin Care Series will be published later this year.