Spice Up Your Skincare Routine With This Aromatic Plant: "Centella Asiatica"

Those familiar with Korean beauty products will be familiar with Centella Asiatica. Even though it has been used in medicine and cooking for hundreds of years, its popularity in the beauty industry has only grown in the last few years.

Many of the current skincare products contain the natural herb Centella Asiatica. Despite being used in cosmetics for decades, Centella Asiatica is just now experiencing a rise in popularity. So how does it function, and what is it? The science behind a recently popular plant component is applied along here.

Let's investigate this part's current success and popularity to find out why it's so well-liked.

What exactly is Centella Asiatica?

Centella Asiatica is also known as Gotu kola and Indian pennywort. This plant has a long tradition of use in Ayurvedic treatment in India. In addition, some people in Asia eat raw leaves or use them to make beverages.

What exactly is in that CENTELLA?

About 8% of Centella asiatica's mass comprises the active chemical class known as terpenoids. Asiatic acid, madecassic acid, asiaticoside, and madecassoside are the most extensively researched chemicals for their skin-beneficial properties. Some products contain the whole plant or an "extract of Centella Asiatica." There is a lot of overlap between the functions of different terpenoids.

Ingredients like antioxidants, humectant moisturizers, and vitamins are just as crucial as terpenoids for healthy skin.

What role does Centella play?

Centella is best known for its cicatrizing, or healing or scar-forming, properties, which are alluded to by the prefix "cica-" on numerous Centella products.

Most published research stems from studies conducted on animals or in a controlled laboratory. In addition, Centella is typically mixed with other compounds, making it impossible to establish whether it is responsible for most of the effects or whether the other chemicals are.

Centella Asiatica extract and asiaticoside have been the subjects of numerous wound-healing studies in rats. It has been shown in tests that Centella Asiatica extract speeds up the generation of new skin cells and collagen, indicating that it has a therapeutic effect. It is also beneficial for antioxidant activity and vascular expansion. It also has antimicrobial properties.

In an in vitro investigation, a rabbit ear model of hypertrophic scarring and keloid formation was used. The results of this study revealed that madecassoside prevented the formation of both types of scarring, but asiaticoside aided hypertrophic scarring. Madecassoside inhibited hyperpigmentation caused by ultraviolet light in human skin samples (tanning). Oral Centella extracts have only been researched concerning wound healing and lowering venous difficulties in flyers, although topical Centella extracts have demonstrated encouraging outcomes in studies.

Centella Asiatica: The Benefits For Skin Health

Four of the plant's many beneficial chemicals stand out: Asiatic acid, madecassic acid, madecassoside, and asiaticoside. Acne and other skin disorders can be effectively treated with these ingredients.

Centella Asiatica is an excellent natural antioxidant because of its high levels of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3 (niacinamide), C, and carotene. Free radicals, caused by pollution and UV light, can damage cells if not prevented.

Studies have revealed that Centella Asiatica extract can boost antioxidant levels in the skin's nascent layers. After seven days of topical treatment of 0.2% asiaticoside, levels of superoxide dismutase were elevated by 35%, catalase by 67%, glutathione peroxidase by 49%, vitamin E by 77%, and vitamin C (ascorbic acid) by 36%. There was a 69% drop in lipid peroxide levels as well. However, when Centella Asiatica extract was applied topically for over seven days, there was no increase in antioxidant levels.

Aging is an unavoidable process. Centella Asiatica, however, can enable you to leave this life with dignity. Lack of type I collagen is a significant contributor to accelerated aging. By stimulating collagen formation, primarily type I collagen, Centella Asiatica aids in maintaining the skin's elasticity and firmness. In addition, Centella Asiatica is one of the best anti-aging medicines because it has many antioxidants and can get rid of free radicals.

You may already know that "Cica" is both an abbreviation for Centella Asiatica and a reference to the cicatrizing and healing properties of the plant. Asiaticoside, one of Centella asiatica's four primary active components, has been found in recent research to be particularly helpful at speeding up the healing process of wounds. They speed up the process of making new skin cells by causing the blood flow and collagen more robust.

Furthermore, studies revealed that it significantly reduced microbial load. As a result, it efficiently fights inflammation after being provided by decreasing the synthesis of these pro-inflammatory skin troublemakers. There are signs that Centella Asiatica can help people with acne, especially those with sensitive skin.

Centella Asiatica contains an anti-acne active compound called madecassoside. So, this molecule is a good tool for fighting skin redness and irritation. 

Cellulite is caused by the dilation of blood vessels and the "bulging" of subcutaneous fat that results from an increase in fat cells or a breakdown in connective tissue integrity. The affected areas, the buttocks, and thighs, stand out the most, with the skin appearing dimpled and "lumpy."

Most treatments for cellulite work by increasing blood flow, altering fat distribution or restructuring connective tissue. Centella Asiatica extracts can help improve microcirculation and regulate the metabolism of cells in connective tissue, among other things.

According to research conducted in 1991 by Mallol et al., ingesting Centella Asiatica extracts may help women avoid getting stretch marks while pregnant. Fifty pregnant women were given a cream with Centella Asiatica extract, vitamin E, hydrolyzed collagen, and elastin, and another fifty were given a cream with a placebo. 

Furthermore, TECA was found to diminish skin inflammation and allergic reactivity in a mouse model of atopic dermatitis. Based on these findings, researchers have been looking into whether or not Centella Asiatica can help with inflammatory skin problems.

Subsequent research has shown that Centella Asiatica extracts have anti-inflammatory and moisturizing properties. After just one week, when applied twice daily, Centella Asiatica extracts improved skin hydration and reduced transepidermal water loss (TEWL). These effects persisted for another four weeks. In addition, Centella Asiatica extracts soothe inflamed skin by restoring its barrier function, reducing redness, and lowering its pH.

Centella Asiatica extracts may offer the same kind of protection from the sun as TECA, which has been shown to protect skin from UVB damage.

The Takeaway

Gotu kola has properties of anti-aging, anti-acne, and body-sculpting products. Now, you may choose from various extracts on the retail shelves. The majority appear to be water-soluble hydro glycolic extracts. Madecassoside and asiaticoside, two types of triterpenoid saponins, can also be isolated from centella.

One of the eleven ingredients in YourHappy Collagen (Advanced) is Centella Asiatica, a potent anti-aging herb, that helps your skin to remain glowing & healthy.