Water
Also-called: Aqua | What-it-does: solvent
Good old water, aka H2O. The most common skincare ingredient of all. You can usually find it right in the very first spot of the ingredient list, meaning it’s the biggest thing out of all the stuff that makes up the product.
It’s mainly a solvent for ingredients that do not like to dissolve in oils but rather in water.
Once inside the skin, it hydrates, but not from the outside - putting pure water on the skin (hello long baths!) is drying.
One more thing: the water used in cosmetics is purified and deionized (it means that almost all of the mineral ions inside it is removed). Like this, the products can stay more stable over time.
Diphenylsiloxy Phenyl Trimethicone
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Iron Oxides (Ci 77492)
Also-called: Ci 77491/77492/77499 | What-it-does: colorant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
A bit of a sloppy ingredient name as it covers not one butthree pigments: red, yellow and black iron oxide.
The triois invaluable for "skin-colored" makeup products (think your foundation and pressed powder) as blendingthese three shades carefully can produce almost any shade of natural-looking flesh tones.
Dipropylene Glycol
What-it-does: solvent
A clear, colorless liquid that works as a solvent and viscositydecreasing ingredient. It also has great skin-moisturizing abilities.
Hydrogenated Polydecene
Also-called: Alphaflow | What-it-does: emollient, perfuming, solvent
A hydrocarbon-based emollient that can come in different viscosities from silky-light through satiny-smooth to luxurious, rich. It forms anon-occlusive film on the surface of the skin and brings gloss without greasiness to the formula. It's a very pure and hypoallergenic emollient that's also ideal forbaby care products.
Isododecane
What-it-does: emollient, solvent
Aclear, colorless and odorless, highly volatile (meaning it does not absorb into the skin but evaporates from it) liquid that's used as an emollient. It gives a nicenon-oily light skin feeland it can improvethe slip of the formula without leaving a tacky residue behind.
It's also popular in make-up products as its volatility makes mascarasand foundations last longer. If that would not be enough, it's also an excellent solvent, and it's a regular not only on the ingredients lists of make-ups but also on makeup removers.
Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891)
Also-called: Titanium Dioxide/Ci 77891;Ci 77891 | What-it-does: colorant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
Ci 77891 is the color code of titaniumdioxide.It's a white pigment with great color consistency and dispersibility.
Cyclopentasiloxane
What-it-does: emollient, solvent
A super commonly used 5 unit long, cyclic structuredsilicone that is water-thin and does not stay on the skin but evaporates from it (called volatile silicone). Similar to other silicones, it gives skin and hair a silky, smooth feel.
It's often combined with the non-volatile (i.e. stays on the skin)dimethicone as the two together forma water-resistant, breathable protective barrier on the skin without a negative tacky feel.
Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride
What-it-does: emollient
A super common emollient that makes your skin feel nice and smooth. It comes from coconut oil and glycerin, it’s light-textured, clear, odorless and non-greasy. It’s a nice ingredient that just feels good on the skin, is super well tolerated by every skin type andeasy to formulate with. No wonder it’s popular.
Caprylyl Methicone
What-it-does: emollient
A clear, colorless, low viscosity, volatile (does not absorb into the skin but rather evaporates from it) silicone fluid that has excellent spreadability and leaves a light, silky and smooth feel on the skin.
According to manufacturer info, its big advantage is that it's compatible both with other silicones and with natural plant oils, so it's a great ingredient to formulate products with good-sounding, consumer-pleasing vegetable oils but still maintain a cosmetically elegant, non-greasy and non-tacky feel.
Lauryl PEG-8 Dimethicone
What-it-does: surfactant/cleansing
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Iron Oxides (Ci 77491)
Also-called: Ci 77491/77492/77499 | What-it-does: colorant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
A bit of a sloppy ingredient name as it covers not one butthree pigments: red, yellow and black iron oxide.
The triois invaluable for "skin-colored" makeup products (think your foundation and pressed powder) as blendingthese three shades carefully can produce almost any shade of natural-looking flesh tones.
Butylene Glycol
What-it-does: moisturizer/humectant, solvent | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 1
Butylene glycol, or let’s just call it BG, is a multi-tasking colorless, syrupy liquid. It’s a great pick for creating a nice feeling product.
BG’s main job is usually to be a solvent for the other ingredients. Other tasks include helping the product to absorb faster and deeper into the skin (penetration enhancer), making the product spread nicely over the skin (slip agent), and attracting water (humectant) into the skin.
It’s an ingredient whose safety hasn’t been questioned so far by anyone (at least not that we know about). BG is approved by Ecocert and is also used enthusiastically in natural products. BTW, it’s also a food additive.
Iron Oxides (Ci 77499)
Also-called: Ci 77491/77492/77499 | What-it-does: colorant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
A bit of a sloppy ingredient name as it covers not one butthree pigments: red, yellow and black iron oxide.
The triois invaluable for "skin-colored" makeup products (think your foundation and pressed powder) as blendingthese three shades carefully can produce almost any shade of natural-looking flesh tones.
Phenyl Trimethicone
What-it-does: emollient
A silicone fluid that gives anonoily, easy to spread emolliencyto the formulas. It is also used as a water repellent additive and to reduce the tackiness and stickiness of otheringredients. It also imparts gloss, softness and better manageability to hair.
Sodium Chloride
Also-called: Salt | What-it-does: viscosity controlling
Sodium chloride is the fancy name of salt. Normal, everyday table salt.
If (similar to us) you are in the weird habit of reading the label on your shower gel while taking a shower, you might have noticed that sodium chloride is almost always on the ingredient list. The reason for this is that salt acts as a fantastic thickener in cleansing formulas created with ionic cleansing agents(aka surfactants) such as Sodium Laureth Sulfate. A couple of percents (typically 1-3%) turns a runny surfactant solution into a nice gel texture.
If you are into chemistry (if not, we understand, just skip this paragraph), the reason is that electrolytes (you know, the Na+ and Cl- ions) screen the electrostatic repulsion between the head groups of ionic surfactants and thus support the formation of long shaped micelles (instead of spherical ones) that entangle like spaghetti, and viola, a gel is formed. However, too much of it causes the phenomenon called "salting out", and the surfactant solution goes runny again.
Other than that, salt also works as an emulsion stabilizer inwater-in-oil emulsions, that is when water droplets are dispersed in the outer oil (or silicone) phase. And last but not least, when salt is right at the first spot of the ingredient list (and is not dissolved), the product is usually a body scrub where salt is thephysical exfoliating agent.
Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone
Also-called: Cetyl Dimethicone Copolyol | What-it-does: emulsifying, surfactant/cleansing
A silicone emulsifier that helps water and silicone oils to mix nicely together.
Glycerin - superstar
Also-called: Glycerol | What-it-does: skin-identical ingredient, moisturizer/humectant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
- A natural moisturizer that’s also in our skin
- A super common, safe, effective and cheap molecule used for more than 50 years
- Not only a simple moisturizer but knows much more: keeps the skin lipids between our skin cells in a healthy (liquid crystal) state, protects against irritation, helps to restore barrier
- Effective from as low as 3% with even more benefits for dry skin at higher concentrations up to 20-40%
- High-glycerin moisturizers are awesome for treating severely dry skin
Read all the geeky details about Glycerin here >>
Synthetic Beeswax
What-it-does: emulsion stabilising, viscosity controlling
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Propanediol
Also-called: Zemea | What-it-does: solvent, moisturizer/humectant
Propanediol is a natural alternative for the often usedand often bad-mouthed propylene glycol. It's produced sustainably from corn sugar and it's Ecocert approved.
It's quite a multi-tasker: can be used to improve skin moisturization, as a solvent, to boost preservative efficacyor to influence the sensory properties of the end formula.
Disteardimonium Hectorite
What-it-does: viscosity controlling
An organic derivative of hectorite clay, Disteardimonium Hectorite is used as a viscosity controller - it thickens up formulations to make them less runny.
It’s most popular use in cosmetics is in sunscreens, under the trademarked name Bentone 38 from Elementis. According to the manufacturer info, it is a real multi-tasker, including the ability to prevent pigments settling during storage, stabilizing a formula for longer,creating a light and smooth skin feel andenhancing the water-resistance of sunscreen formulas.
Poly C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate
What-it-does: emulsion stabilising, viscosity controlling
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Portulaca Oleracea Extract - goodie
Also-called: Purslane Extract | What-it-does: soothing, antioxidant
Portulaca Oleracea is anice succulent with bright yellow flowers and edible nutritious vegetables. It's a famousplant in Korean traditional medicine to treat infection andirritated skin.
Modern research confirms that it's loaded with skin-goodies: it's the richest green plant source of omega-3 fatty acids (α-linolenic acid), contains NMFs (polysaccharides and amino acids), vitamins (β-carotene), minerals, and antioxidants (yellow betaxanthins and reddish betacyanins). Thanks to all its beneficial components, Purslane Extracthas several magic properties: it's a great anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agent and also has wound healing abilities.
Panthenol - goodie
Also-called: Pro-Vitamin B5 | What-it-does: soothing, moisturizer/humectant | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 0
An easy-to-formulate, commonly used, nice to have ingredient that’s also called pro-vitamin B5. As you might guess from the “pro” part, it’s a precursor to vitamin B5 (whose fancy name is pantothenic acid).
Its main job in skincare products is to moisturise the skin. It’s a humectant meaning that it can help the skin to attract water and then hold onto it. There is also research showing that panthenol can help our skin to produce more lovely lipids that are important for a strong and healthy skin barrier.
Another great thing about panthenol is that it has anti-inflammatory and skin protecting abilities. A study shows that it can reduce the irritation caused by less-nice other ingredients (e.g. fragrance, preservatives or chemical sunscreens) in the product.
Research also shows that it might be useful for wound healing as it promotes fibroblast (nice type of cells in our skin that produce skin-firming collagen) proliferation.
If that wasn’t enough panthenol is also useful in nail and hair care products. A study shows that a nail treatment liquide with 2% panthenol could effectively get into the nail and significantly increase the hydration of it.
As for the hair the hydration effect is also true there. Panthenol might make your hair softer, more elastic and helps to comb your hair more easily.
Triethoxycaprylylsilane
A clear, light yellow liquid that is used to coat pigments (such as inorganic sunscreen agents or colorants) in cosmetic products. The coating helps to stabilize pigments in the formulas and also helps them to spread easily and evenly on the skin.
Cyclohexasiloxane
What-it-does: emollient, solvent
A light-feeling, volatile (meaning it does not absorb into the skin but evaporates from it) silicone that gives skin a unique, silky and non-greasy feel. It hasexcellent spreading properties and leaves no oily residue or build-up.
Trimethylsiloxysilicate
What-it-does: emollient
A solid silicone resin that creates a permeable film over the skin. It makes makeup formulas more long-lastingand can enhance the water resistance of sunscreens. It leaves a non-tacky film when dried.
Mica (Ci 77019)
Also-called: CI 77019 | What-it-does: colorant
A super versatile and common mineral powder that comes in different particle sizes. It is a multi-tasker used to improve skin feel, increase product slip, give the product light-reflecting properties, enhance skin adhesion or serve as an anti-caking agent.
It is also the most commonly used "base" material for layered composite pigments such as pearl-effect pigments. In this case, mica is coated with one or moremetal oxides (most commonly titanium dioxide) to achieve pearl effect via the physical phenomenon known as interference.
Acrylates/Dimethicone Copolymer
A polymer molecule (big molecule from repeated subunits) whose main thing is being a film-former.
It is often dissolved in a volatile carrier fluid that evaporates from the skinleaving a nice, flexiblefilm with great water, oil and abrasion resistance, oxygen permeability, and long-lasting cosmetic effect. These properties are especially useful forsun protection formulas and long-lasting foundations.
Glyceryl Caprylate
What-it-does: preservative
A 100% plant derived, natural (Ecocert approved) multi-functional ingredient that has emollient and moisturizing properties, can work as a co-emulsifier (meaning that next to other emulsifiers it can help water and oil to mix) and even more importantly has a strong antimicrobial activity.
Thanks to this last thing, it allows a lower percentage of traditional preservative or it might even be able to completelyreplace them.
Propylene Carbonate
What-it-does: solvent, viscosity controlling
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Ethylhexylglycerin
What-it-does: preservative, deodorant
If you have spottedethylhexylglycerinon the ingredient list, most probably you will see there also the current IT-preservative,phenoxyethanol. They are good friends becauseethylhexylglycerincan boost the effectiveness of phenoxyethanol (and other preservatives) and as an added bonus it feels nice on the skin too.
Also,it's an effective deodorant and a medium spreadingemollient.
Aluminum Hydroxide
What-it-does: emollient, moisturizer/humectant, viscosity controlling
Officially, CosIng (the official EU ingredient database) lists Aluminum Hydroxide 's functions as opacifying(making the product white and non-transparent), as well as emollient and skin protectant.
However, with a little bit of digging, it turns out Aluminum Hyroxide often moonlights as a protective coating for UV filter superstar Titanium Dioxide. Specifically, it protects our skin from the harmful effects of nasty Reactive Oxygen Species (free radicals derived from oxygen such as Superoxide and Hydrogen Peroxide)generated when Titanium Dioxide is exposed to UV light. Btw, chlorine inswimming pool waterdepletes this protective coating, so one more reason to reapply your sunscreen after a dip in the pool on holiday.
Other than that,Aluminum Hydroxide also often shows up in composite pigment technologies where it is used the other way around (as the base material and not as the coating material) and helps to achieve higher color coverage with less pigment.
Fragrance - icky
Also-called: Fragrance, Parfum;Parfum/Fragrance | What-it-does: perfuming
Exactly what it sounds: nice smelling stuff put into cosmetic products so that the end product also smells nice. Fragrance in the US and parfum in the EU is a generic term on the ingredient list that is made up of 30 to 50 chemicals on average (but it can have as much as 200 components!).
If you are someone who likes to know what you put on your face then fragrance is not your best friend - there's no way to know what’s really in it.
Also, if your skin is sensitive, fragrance is again not your best friend. It’s the number one cause of contact allergy to cosmetics. It’s definitely a smart thing to avoid with sensitive skin (and fragrance of any type - natural is just as allergic as synthetic, if not worse!).
Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate
Also-called: EDDS | What-it-does: chelating
A helper ingredient that helps to neutralize the metal ions in the formula (they usually come from water) so it stays nice longer. The special property of this particular ingredient is that it's more effective against more problematic ions, likeCu (copper) and Fe (iron) compared to less problematic ones like Ca (calcium) and Mg (magnesium).
Stearalkonium Hectorite
What-it-does: viscosity controlling
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil - goodie
Also-called: Meadowfoam Oil | What-it-does: emollient
The emollient plant oil coming from the seeds of the white flowering plant called meadowfoam.Meadowfoam Oil has a unique fatty acid composition with 95% of it being long chain fatty acids (eicosenoic acid C20:1 - 61%, docosenoic acid C22:1 - 16% and docosadienoic acid C22:2 - 18%) that make the oil extraordinarily stable. It also contains antioxidant components such as vitamin E as well asphytosterols.
Apart fromMeadowfoam Oil's crazy stability, the oil is described as non-greasy, rapidly absorbed and having a similar skin feel to more often used jojoba oil. The oil is ideal for products where a soft, smooth, silky feel is required whether it be on skin or hair.
Polyglyceryl-3 Diisostearate
What-it-does: emulsifying | Irritancy: 0 | Comedogenicity: 4
A natural emulsifier that brings a soft and powdery feel to the formula. It's also very gentle and is recommended for sensitive or baby skin products.
Polyglyceryl-3 Polyricinoleate
What-it-does: emulsifying, viscosity controlling
A plant based ingredient that helps water to mix with oil (aka W/O emulsifier).It's especially good for soft to low-viscosity water-in-oil emulsionswith non-greasy, pleasant skin feellike lip balms or thick body butters.
Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Maltodextrin
What-it-does: absorbent/mattifier, emulsion stabilising
It's a little helper ingredient coming from corn, rice or potato starch that can help to keep skin mat (absorbent), to stabilise emulsions, and to keep the product together (binding).
1,2-Hexanediol
What-it-does: solvent
A really multi-functional helper ingredient that can do several things in a skincare product: it can bring a soft and pleasant feel to the formula, it can act as a humectant and emollient, it can be a solvent for some other ingredients (for example it can help to stabilize perfumesin watery products) and it can also help to disperse pigments more evenly in makeup products. And that is still not all: it can also boost the antimicrobial activity of preservatives.
Ceramide NP - goodie
Also-called: Ceramide 3 | What-it-does: skin-identical ingredient
One of the many types of ceramides that can be found naturally in the upper layer of the skin. Ceramides make upabout 50% of the goopy stuff that's between our skin cells and play a super important role in having a healthy skin barrier and keeping the skin hydrated. It works even better when combined with its pal, Ceramide1.
We wrote way more about ceramides at ceramide 1, so click here to know more.
Phytosphingosine - goodie
What-it-does: skin-identical ingredient, cell-communicating ingredient, anti-acne, antimicrobial/antibacterial
It's a type of lipid, a so-calledsphingoid base that can be found naturally in the upper layer of the skin. It's found both in "free-form" and as part of famous skin lipids, ceramides.
There is emerging research about Phytosphingosine that shows that it has antimicrobial and cell-communicating properties and is considered part of the skin's natural defense system.
A 2007 study showed thatPhytosphingosine even works againstevil acne-causing bacteria,Propionibacterium acnes and shows promise as a complementing active ingredient in treating acne-prone skin thanks to its anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities.
A nice one to spot in the ingredient list. :)
Ganoderma Lucidum (Mushroom) Extract - goodie
Also-called: Reishi Mushroom Extract | What-it-does: soothing
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Hydrogenated Lecithin - goodie
What-it-does: emollient, emulsifying
It's the chemically chopped up version of normal lecithin. Most often it's used to create liposomes and to coat and stabilizeother ingredients.
Lactobacillus Ferment - goodie
What-it-does: soothing, preservative
Lactobacillus ferment is an interesting probiotic ingredient with some promising properties.
First, according to a 2009 Estee Lauder patent, it’s a DNA repair enzyme and it can help to protect the skin against environmental aggressors.
Second, still according to Estee Lauder research but now from 2012 the ingredient has anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties and holds promise in the treatment of acne and rosacea. For the former one 5% was needed to show effectiveness, but for reducing skin sensitivity already 1% showed results.
The anti-acne effect is confirmed also by US manufacturer, Barnet, that says that Lactobacillus ferment is helpful in killing harmful bacteria and creating a healthy balanced microflora. Compared to well-known anti-acne and anti-inflammatory salicylic acid the probiotic worked faster at reducing the size and redness of acne lesions.
It also goes by the trade nameLeucidalLiquid SF and can serve in the formula as a natural preservative.
Bottom line: It’s not the most proven ingredient (yet) but definitely a very promising one especially if you have sensitive skin, acne or rosacea.
Lentinus Edodes Extract
Also-called: Shiitake Mushroom Extract
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Sparassis Crispa Extract
What-it-does: emulsion stabilising, moisturizer/humectant
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Trametes Versicolor Extract
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Centella Asiatica Extract - goodie
Also-called: Gotu Kola, Tiger Grass | What-it-does: soothing, antioxidant, moisturizer/humectant
Centella Asiatica - or sometimes also called Gotu Kola or Cica - has been used in folk medicine for hundreds of years. It’s traditionally used to improve small wounds, burns and scratches and it’s also a well known anti-inflammatory agent for eczema.
Recently science has taken an interest in Gotu Kola as well and it turns out it really has many active compounds with several benefits. Just for hard-core geeks, the main biologically active compounds are pentacyclic triterpenoid saponins calledasiaticoside, madecassoside, asiatic and madecassic acid (also called centellosides).
One of the biological activities of thecentellosides isto be able to stimulate GAGs (glycosaminoglycans - polysaccharides that are part of the liquidy stuff between our skin cells), and especially hyaluronic acid synthesis in our skin. This is probably one of the reasons why Centella Asiatica Extract has nice skin moisturizingproperties that was confirmed by a 25 people, four weeks study along with Centella's anti-inflammatory effects.
Madecassoside can also help in burn wound healing through increasing antioxidant activity and enhancing collagen synthesis. Asiaticoside was shown to increase antioxidant levels on rats skin when applied at 0.2%.
Centella Asiatica also often shows up in products that try to treat cellulite or striae. Of course, it cannot make a miracle but it might have some effect via regulating microcirculation and normalizing the metabolism in the cells of connective tissues.
Bottom line: Gotu Kola is a great plant ingredient with proven wound healing, anti-inflammatory,and antioxidant properties. Nice to spot on any ingredient list.
Centella Asiatica Leaf Extract - goodie
What-it-does: soothing, antioxidant, moisturizer/humectant
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Centella Asiatica Root Extract
We don't have description for this ingredient yet.
Pinus Pinaster Bark Extract - goodie
Also-called: Pycnogenol | What-it-does: antioxidant
A natural plant extract coming from the bark of the maritime pine that grows along the coast of southwest France. The extract contains potent antioxidant molecules, mainlyprocyanidinsand phenolic acids. Horphag Research trademarked the name 'Pycnogenol', which refers to a standardized, high-active content version of the pine bark extract.
Pycnogenol is a very well researched ingredient withmore than 370 published studies and review articles. Most of theseare in-vitro (made in the lab, not on real people) or analyse Pycnogenol when taken orally. It's clear from them that Pycnogenol has a load of health benefits including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anticarcinogenic magical properties (and a bunch of other things such as improving cognitive function, relieving premenstrual symptoms, or enhancingmicrocirculation).
Regarding Pycnogenol and the skin, we found a study from 2012 that examinedits effect on the skin when taken as a supplement. After 12 weeks,Pycnogenol supplements resulted inincreased skin hydration andelasticity. Theresearchers thought this was due to the increased synthesis of extracellular matrix molecules such as hyaluronic acid and perhaps collagen.
As for topical application, the studies are also promising. A 2003 research paper, conductedon mice, showed that topical Pycnogenol (used at 0.05-0.2%)has the potential toprovide photoprotection for humans in a complementary role to sunscreens. Meanwhile, a 2004 study concluded, "pine bark extract is readily absorbed by human skin and can be used for topical application".
Overall, Pycnogenol, orPinus Pinaster Bark Extract, asit will be listed on the product label, is a well-researched and potent antioxidant that is a welcomeaddition to any ingredient list.
Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate
Also-called: Tinogard TT | What-it-does: antioxidant, preservative
Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate is an antioxidant molecule used in small amounts (less than 0.8%) to help products stay nice longer. More specifically, it is great at preventing discoloration or other types of oxidative degradation. It is a trendy alternative to often bad-mouthed synthetic antioxidant and stabilizer,BHT.
Asiatic Acid - goodie
One of the biologically active componentsof Gotu Kola. It's a bit less prominent than its sister component,Asiaticoside, but in-vitro (made in the lab) studies show thatAsiatic Acid also stimulates GAGs (glycosaminoglycans - polysaccharides that are part of the liquidy stuff between our skin cells) production as well as collagen I synthesis.
Englishtranslation equals thatit probably contributes to the well-established moisturizing and wound healing abilitiesof Gotu Kola.
Asiaticoside - goodie
What-it-does: antioxidant, perfuming
One of the main biologically active components of the famous medicinal plant, Centella Asiatica, aka Gotu Kola. It has well established wound healing and antioxidant activities.
In-vitro (made in the lab) studies also show thatAsiaticosidestimulates GAGs (glycosaminoglycans - polysaccharides that are part of the liquidy stuff between our skin cells) production as well as collagen I synthesis.Read more at Gotu Kola >>
Madecassic Acid - goodie
One of the biologically active componentsofGotu Kolathat is thought to contribute to the plant extract's well-documented skin regenerating, wound healing, and moisturizingproperties.
If you are into Gotu Kola we have some more info at Centella Asiatica Extract and its other biologically active componentsMadecassoside,Asiaticoside and Asiatic Acid.
Madecassoside - goodie
What-it-does: antioxidant, soothing
One of the main biologically active components of the famousmedicinal plant, Centella Asiatica, aka Gotu Kola. It haswell established wound healing,skin-soothing and antioxidant activities.
There is also a study by La Roche Posay (belongs to L'Oreal) that examined the anti-aging effects of 5% Vitamin C combined with 0.1%Madecassoside. They mention that " Madecassosideis known to induce collagen expression and ⁄ or to modulate inflammatory mediators thus might prevent and correct some signs of aging." The surprisinglylong, 6-month study observed "significant improvement of the clinical score for deep and superficial wrinkles, suppleness, firmness, roughness, and skin hydration", but Vitamin C in itself is already an anti-aging superstar, so it is hard to know how muchMadecassoside did.
Another promising property ofMadecassoside is that it seems to inhibit UV-induced melanin synthesis (test formula with0.05% MA, used twice a day on 23 volunteers for 8 weeks), making it a great active for hyperpigmentation-prone skin.
If that would not be enough, the French manufacturer (Seppic) also has encouraging in-vivo studies on the molecule.Used at 0.2%, Madecassoside reduces redness and peeling in skin with light atopic dermatitis as well as itching in psoriasis-prone skin.
If you are into Gotu Kola, read more here >>
