If you are a skincare enthusiast, then you may have already come across Cica, or the multiple other names it's known by like Centella Asiatica, Gotu Kola, and Tiger Grass. The reason this ingredient seems to be in so many skincare products is because of its multiple benefits for the skin. It’s soothing, reduces redness, has antioxidant properties, and is hydrating. For this reason Cica has popped up in color-correcting creams, moisturizers, and acne treatments to help soothe acne-prone skin.
What is Cica?
Cica is an herb that has been traditionally used for its wound healing properties, especially in treating small wounds, burns, and scratches because of its anti-inflammatory and soothing benefits. Cica is already pretty popular in K-beauty with a huge variety of skincare products including Cica in everything from balms, creams, masks, and serums.
Cica also has specific compounds, like Madecassic Acid and Madecassoside, that give it its more potent powers like wound healing and soothing inflammation and redness. While Madecassic Acid and Madecassoside may not be super recognizable by name, remember that although they have a different name they are still derived from Cica.
As an antioxidant, Cica helps to reduce skin damage from free radicals (which form via exposure to UV rays and pollution). Given that pollution is a pretty present factor in our everyday lives, it’s important to incorporate antioxidants into your skincare routine. Additionally, another vital benefit of Cica is its ability to heal small wounds (like those caused by acne) and its ability to soothe redness and inflammation (also from acne). On top of these benefits, Cica helps keep the skin hydrated. Acne treatments (at least the popular treatments in the U.S.) can have drying effects on the skin. While exfoliating acids help combat acne, they also have the potential to dry out the skin. Although Cica plays a supporting role in acne products it still has a pretty vital role as it helps soothe acne prone skin while keeping it hydrated.
Madecassic Acid + Our Soothing Blemish Patch
One of the star ingredients of the Soothing Blemish Patch is Madecassic Acid. Our Soothing Patch works best on itchy, irritated, and/or popped pimples. While it’s typically recommended to avoid applying topicals on open skin, like that of a popped pimple, it's pretty safe to apply the Soothing Patch on a recently popped pimple.
The Madecassic Acid in the patch helps soothe the redness and inflammation that usually follows a popped pimple. After popping a pimple, the skin may go through some redness and swelling. Madecassic Acid helps soothe the skin by bringing down redness and inflammation that can occur with a popped or irritated pimple. As a bonus, keeping a popped pimple covered with the patch helps speed up healing and protect the open skin from any harmful outside bacteria.
Madecassoside and Our Dark Spot Brightening Patch
Our Dark Spot Brightening Patch is infused with Madecassoside to help heal acne scars, dark spots, and sun spots. Madecassoside assists in wound healing and helps boost collagen synthesis in order to help the skin repair damage like acne scars.
When you pop a pimple (or even if you don’t) you are sometimes left with a scar that can be darker than the rest of your skin and maybe even a little raised. Madecassoside stimulates collagen synthesis in the skin to help smooth acne scars. Through its antioxidant properties, Madecassoside also helps protect the skin from free radicals caused by UV rays and pollution to help prevent dark spots from darkening further when exposed to the sun.
Should you seek out Cica in your skincare?
Cica is known to help with a wide variety of skin issues that make it a pretty versatile skincare ingredient. It helps with wound healing and inflammation, making it a useful ingredient if you are particularly prone to breakouts. And on top of that it also helps keep the skin hydrated, an important property that everyone can benefit from. Its wound healing and soothing properties are what help the Soothing Blemish Patch and Dark Spot Brightening Patch work their magic on things like popped pimples and dark spots.
