Ingredient guide
Liquiritin
INCI name · liquiritin
In short
Liquiritin is a licorice-root flavonoid with one small human topical study. Twenty women with epidermal melasma used 1% liquiritin cream on one side of the face and vehicle on the other twice daily for four weeks; that study does not establish lower irritation than hydroquinone or kojic acid.
Works forFrom reviewed ingredient data
Best used
Morning
What it is
Flavanone O-glucoside isolated from Glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice root); acts on pigmentation through a mechanism distinct from most brighteners. One small split-face study compared 1% liquiritin cream with vehicle in 20 women with epidermal melasma, twice daily for four weeks. The PubMed record does not state randomization or blinding and included no hydroquinone or kojic-acid comparator, so it cannot establish comparative tolerability.
Evidence receipt
LimitedLiquiritin · applied to skin
Based on 1 source
Open the citable recordOne small four-week split-face controlled trial in 20 women with epidermal melasma reported improvement with 1% liquiritin cream versus vehicle.
Studied as Liquiritin: 1% liquiritin cream.
This is one small, short study. The PubMed record does not state randomization or blinding, and the study included no hydroquinone or kojic-acid comparator, so it cannot establish comparative tolerability.
See the source
Twenty women with bilateral epidermal melasma used liquiritin cream on one side of the face and vehicle on the other twice daily for four weeks. The report describes improvement with 1% liquiritin, but the PubMed abstract does not state randomization or blinding and names no active comparator.
epidermal melasma pigmentation · 1% liquiritin cream
Int J Dermatol, 2000
Affiliation note. Publication links report the study authors and their affiliations. MIRU does not infer independence from an affiliation alone.
When to use it
Mornings suit it best.
Where it sits
Serums sit after toner and before moisturiser. Thinnest to thickest, water before oil.
- Cleanse
- Tone
- Liquiritin
- Moisturise
- SPF
Also found as
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Check an ingredient listCommon questions
What evidence does MIRU hold for liquiritin?
One controlled split-face study compared 1% liquiritin cream with vehicle in 20 women with epidermal melasma, twice daily for four weeks. MIRU grades this Limited because it is one small, short study.
Was the liquiritin study randomized or double-blind?
The PubMed record does not state randomization or blinding, so MIRU does not claim either. It describes a split-face vehicle control in which each participant used liquiritin on one side and vehicle on the other.
Is liquiritin less irritating than hydroquinone or kojic acid?
The held study did not include hydroquinone or kojic acid. It therefore cannot establish that liquiritin is gentler than or as effective as either ingredient.
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Personal guidance, not medical advice.