Centella Asiatica: A Marketing Gimmick or Your Skin’s Best Friend?

Centella asiatica is making waves in the skincare market, with numerous beauty products powered by this popular natural ingredient. But what’s the real deal? Does it really live up to the hype?

In this post, you’ll get the scoop on this amazing ingredient, its benefits for your skin, and how to best fit it into your daily routine. That’s a plan, let’s go then!

What is Centella asiatica all about?

Centella asiatica is a herb native to tropical areas of Asia, Australia, Africa, and the western Pacific islands. The plant comes under various names—you may know it as:

• gotu kola, 

• tiger grass, 

• Indian pennywort, 

• or Cica. 
  

This perennial herb is packed with therapeutic properties, which explains its extensive use in traditional medicine. Safe to consume, Centella asiatica is also a common ingredient in Eastern culinary practices to make beverages, soups, salads, and other dishes.

Moreover, the plant extract is a go-to for all sorts of skin problems like lupus, leprosy, eczema, psoriasis, and more. With such a powerhouse of benefits, it’s no surprise that cosmetic chemists set their eyes on Cica in skincare formulations. 

Centella asiatica began to pick up steam with K-beauty products and, these days, many brands infuse it into their toners, serums, creams, sunscreens, and even lip masks.

While this potent herb is making its rounds and appearing everywhere, it wouldn’t hurt to know why it deserves a spot in your skincare routine.

What are the skin perks of Centella asiatica?

Dreaming of healthy, glowing skin? With Centella asiatica, you’re on the right track. Thanks to a wealth of active compounds, it’s a real king of multitasking.

Dryness, inflammation, and aging—it will address various issues like a pro. Check out all the boons this skin-friendly plant has to offer:

Helps look younger

Does the mere thought of saggy skin and wrinkles make you feel down? You’re not alone. While these signs of aging may be among the most feared and disliked, they’re inevitable.

Over time, the skin synthesizes less collagen, and it’s natural. However, factors like lack of sleep, bad eating habits, stress, pollution, and sun exposure can speed up the process.

Centella asiatica works as an antioxidant—it neutralizes free radicals (those tiny molecules that snatch up good stuff from our cells) and supports the skin’s natural defenses.

Plus, the four bioactive compounds found in the plant—asiaticoside, asiatic acid, madecassoside, and madecassic acid—are heavy hitters in kickstarting collagen production and promoting that plump and youthful look we all crave.

Moisturizes skin

Centella asiatica is a great ingredient to have in a time of seasonal transition, especially between winter and summer. With temperatures fluctuating and heaters cycling on and off, the air is getting drier and your skin is at a loss, not knowing how to adapt.

Keeping it hydrated should be at the top of your list. The plant’s extract fits the bill perfectly, replenishing moisture and locking it in. 

One in-vivo study proves this. For four weeks, 25 volunteers applied cosmetic products with Centella asiatica extract (2.5% and 5%) on their forearms twice a day. Researchers checked the skin’s hydration and barrier function weekly.

What’s the outcome? Products with 5% concentration showed better moisturizing results by increasing surface hydration and decreasing water loss. What is more, they were also effective in dealing with mild skin inflammation.

Fights redness and irritation

Red spots, itchiness, swelling, and irritation can be a nightmare for your skin. If you’re dealing with acne, eczema, psoriasis, or other issues, finding an effective remedy may often feel overwhelming. Centella asiatica is here to help! 

One of its key components, madecassoside, is a potent skin soother. In its purified form, this compound shines at reducing redness and irritation and promoting calm skin.

Just make sure you use Cica products consistently and in combination with other treatments for maximum results.

How to work Centella asiatica into your skincare game?

Suppose you’re hooked by Cica and can’t wait to try out this skin-boosting ingredient, but where do you start? Centella asiatica is ubiquitous, which means you can find it in cleansers, toners, serums, creams, and a host of other products. 

Pro tip. To make the most of your Centella asiatica experience, go for products that linger on your face for a while. This will allow the active compounds more time with the skin and maximize the potential benefits.

Cica is highly compatible with almost every other ingredient—niacinamide, vitamins A, E, C, glycolic acid, and even retinol. So feel free to add it to your skin care ritual both day and night. 

Just a friendly reminder: Analyzing all the ingredients in the product’s formula may seem too much. Using the OnSkin app can really save the day. Simply scan the product and OnSkin will handle the rest.

What about the side effects?

This isn’t idle talk—Centella asiatica is safe to use. A dedicated expert panel reviewed data on 9 plant-derived ingredients regarding their safety and concluded that, at current concentrations in cosmetics, they pose no harm.

But is Centella asiatica perfect for everyone? Not exactly. While this natural ingredient is generally well-tolerated by most people, minor allergic reactions are still possible, though they’re rare.

To be on the safe side, we recommend patch testing any Cica product before fully applying it to your face.

Natural multitasker

There’s no doubt—Centella asiatica is here to stay with us! This buzzworthy ingredient does offer a lot to the skin, making it calmer, more moisturized, and resilient to external stress factors. Besides, its ability to support collagen production means firmer, smoother skin over time.

With a low-risk profile and multiple benefits, it’s a no-brainer why Cica is becoming integral to skincare routines of many.