Licorice actives

What is licorice actives?

Licorice root yields several actives. Glycyrrhizin (glycyrrhizic acid) is the sweet triterpene saponin; its aglycone, glycyrrhetinic acid, is the more lipophilic and biologically active form. Dipotassium glycyrrhizate is a water-soluble salt of glycyrrhizic acid used for its solubility in aqueous formulations. Separately, licorice contains glabridin, a flavonoid with tyrosinase-inhibiting activity that is the basis of most licorice brightening claims.

What they do

Anti-inflammatory activity is the best supported: glycyrrhetinic acid inhibits 11-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, which slows the local breakdown of cortisol and produces a mild corticosteroid-sparing effect. That is a real and unusual mechanism for a botanical, and the basis for licorice's use in soothing and post-procedure products.

Pigmentation effects are attributed mainly to glabridin, via tyrosinase inhibition, and to a lesser extent to liquiritin's effect on melanin dispersal. Note that a product containing dipotassium glycyrrhizate is not necessarily delivering glabridin — the actives are different and the INCI name tells you which.

Levels, stated plainly

Dipotassium glycyrrhizate appears in the Youlief Cica Retinal Ampoule at an unstated level. Glycyrrhetinic acid appears in the two Youlief cleansing serums at 0.0000006% — 6 parts per billion. That is a vanishingly small quantity and cannot be doing anything; it should be described as a label presence, not an active contribution.

What does licorice actives not do?

Licorice is not a corticosteroid and should not be presented as an alternative to one for an inflammatory skin condition. Topical brightening from licorice is gradual and modest. And oral licorice has real cardiovascular and blood-pressure considerations that do not apply to cosmetic topical use but do sometimes get conflated with it.