Licorice root extract has a long history for its flavor in food and drinks as well as for its anti-inflammatory properties in medicinal preparations, but did you know that it can also play a role in promoting healthy skin? As an active ingredient in skin care treatments, licorice root extract does double duty by lightening dark spots as a botanical alternative to hydroquinone while offering protection against UV damage.
As a skin lightener, licorice root contains a compound called glabridin which suppresses pigmentation by stalling melanin production. It accomplishes this by hampering tyrosinase activity, the enzyme responsible for producing melanin. For those who are not able to tolerate hydroquinone, licorice root extract offers a plant-based option with few side effects or allergic reactions. Irritation is also rare, most likely due to its anti-inflammatory properties.
As protection against UV damage, new research has been focused on another of licorice root extract’s compounds called Licochalcone A, an antioxidant that has the unique ability to boost the body’s own defensive system against skin-damaging free radicals. When the skin is exposed to daily assaults by environmental hazards, pollution and UV rays, the body’s natural defense kicks in to eliminate the free radicals that are generated. Using a lotion containing Licochalcone A, researchers found that pretreated skin cells in a laboratory setting produced a higher amount of antioxidant molecules and, as a result, significantly fewer harmful free radicals. A subsequent study on volunteers supported those findings by showing how licorice root extract was able to protect from UV damage by stimulating the skin’s own defense system.
The hope is to use licorice root extract as a means to boost the effectiveness of sunscreens. No sunscreen is able to block out 100% of the sun’s damaging rays. Even SPF 50 products only block up to 98%. Researchers are hoping to make up the 2% gap by using new information about licorice root extract to boost the body’s own defensive systems.
Licorice root extract can be found in Zax’s Darkspot Cream, a pharmacist-developed Canadian original.
