With the scientific development of chemical technology and life technology, more and more substances have been discovered and applied to current human production and life. In the process of substance analysis and identification, effective detection tools are needed to accurately identify substances. As a rapidly developing and efficient detection method, HPLC has been widely used in the detection of various cosmetic substances, including nicotinamide, firstly introduces the development background of HPLC, the importance of skin whitening in today's society, and some common whitening ingredients and principles. The application of HPLC in the determination of niacinamide, 3-o-ethyl ascorbic acid and α-arbutin is introduced in the following, and the detection principle and advantages and disadvantages of using HPLC for detection are analyzed. Finally, we analyze and summarize the factors that affect HPLC detection. This approach can be used for market research and quality control of functional cosmetics.