A skin whitening composition includes an extract of asparagus obtained by sequentially exposing the asparagus to two or more solvents of varying solvent strengths. The root and shoot portions of the asparagus can be separately used to obtain the extract. The composition can be topically applied to the human skin and can further include one or more cosmetically acceptable ingredients. A method of suppressing melanogenesis includes topically applying to the skin a composition comprising an extract of asparagus obtained by sequentially exposing the asparagus to two or more solvents of varying solvent strengths.