Centella Asiatica for Skin

If you’re a fan of Korean skin care, you’ve probably heard about the ingredient Centella asiatica. Known by a variety of names, including Brahmi, Asiatic pennywort, tiger grass, and gotu kola, this plant extract is hailed as a hydrating skin-saver. Centella asiatica is included in numerous moisturizers.

 

What is Centella Asiatica?

 

Centella asiatica is a perennial herb that grows primarily in Asia. For years, it’s had both culinary and medicinal uses, but like many traditional plant extracts, it’s gaining popularity as a skin care ingredient.

This swamp-dwelling herb first started appearing in South Korean Cica creams a few years ago, although U.S. brands from Estee Lauder have used it off and on over the years—they just didn’t call them Cica creams. Is this ingredient worth the hype?

 

What Can Centella Asiatica Do for Skin?

 

Studies show that Centella asiatica isn’t just a passing fad—it really does have benefits for skin, thanks to its active compounds, including madecassoside, which serves as an antioxidant. Centella asiatica itself also has been shown to have potent antioxidant properties and to be a rich source of amino acids, and there’s additional research showing that it’s a good hydrating ingredient to soothe, upset or compromised skin.

Centella asiatica also helps mitigate some of the visible effects of sun damage, plus there’s evidence that it can help revitalize skin’s protective barrier.

That’s a great list of benefits for one plant ingredient, but just to be clear: Centella asiatica isn’t the best or only natural ingredient that can improve skin, there are literally hundreds of beneficial natural ingredients, as well as outstanding synthetic ingredients.

In fact, it’s somewhat similar to green tea, in that it’s a plant-derived antioxidant with skin-soothing properties that got its start in traditional medicine but now has the hard science to back up its purported benefits.

While many natural ingredients are big on talk, but small on results, research supports many of the claims around Centella asiatica.

 

Gotu Kola

 

Some welcome aging it with grace and confidence; others build an arsenal to fight off its advances. Whether you belong to the former or the latter, we can all agree on one thing: we can do without the wrinkles, fine lines and sagging skin. Lucky for us, an unassuming little plant found in the wetlands of Asia and Africa may just be the closest we’ll ever get to the fountain of youth. Gotu kola—prized since ancient times by Daoist masters, monks and yogis for its cognitive and spiritual benefits—is fast becoming a favorite in modern medicine and skin care for its healing abilities and anti-aging properties.

Also known by its scientific name centella asiatica or commonly as pennywort, gotu kola is best known in the ancient world for its health benefits (improves brain function, eases anxiety, treats infections and is revered as an herb of longevity, among others). Today, it’s one of the most common ingredients in skin care products, thanks to is potent combination of amino acids, beta carotene, fatty acids and phytochemicals—everything the skin needs to fight off the signs of aging and to protect itself from environmental stressors.

Gotu kola is rich in triternene saponins—a compound that helps keep skin tighter and firmer—and is also a great source of phytonutrients called flavonoids that act as antioxidants and fight off free radical damage. It boosts the formation of collagen and skin tissue, which is crucial in maintaining the skin’s elasticity and youthful glow. Another benefit that gotu kola is most known for is its ability to improve blood circulation. This speeds up the skin’s healing process (goodbye, pimple scars and blemishes!) and makes it effective in treating varicose veins, broken capillaries and stubborn cellulite. This also helps hair loss problems as better circulation means improved delivery of nutrients and oxygen to the scalp. Because of its potent health and skin care properties, gotu kola is often featured as a key ingredient in serums, eye creams and beauty oils. It can also be consumed as tea or taken as a food supplement.

Now who needs that mythical fountain when gotu kola’s wealth of benefits are right at our fingertips?

 

Stretch Mark Solution

In addition, new evidence suggests Centella asiatica can address stretch marks, especially those that appear during pregnancy. These alterations typically occur in the connective tissue as a result of weight gain and hormonal changes that convey elastin, collagen and their components from the mother’s skin and veins to the developing fetal structures.

Contact us to find out what kinds of skincare items best suit this incredible active ingredient.

We are always on the hunt for the best of the best, and try to make products that do more than just make a claim, but DELIVER THE GOODS!  Call soon!