Ingredient spotlight: White Willow Bark
Hormones hit overload in teenagers and can often have a big impact on the condition of the skin.
A build up of grime, dead skin cells and oil can cause blackheads and with bacteria, breakouts can occur.
There are a lot of amazing ingredients that go in to our products to make them so fantastic and perfect for teenage skin, all designed to reduce congestion, pimples and leave skin clear and clean.
White Willow Bark extract is a one of the super powered ingredients used in our products so we thought we should explain a little more about it and why it’s so fantastic.
Just what is White Willow Bark?
Willow Bark is just that; the bark from the willow tree. There are several varieties of willow bark, but we use white willow bark. White Willow Bark is a plant extract and is derived from the white willow tree. Strips of bark are removed from the tree and the inner bark is processed to get to the liquid extract. Willow bark extract has been used for centuries, often for medicinal and minor pain relief, often chewed or brewed in tea.
The willow bark extract is a natural source of salicin - which is a powerful acne-fighting ingredient. It has anti-inflammatory properties, due to the tannins that are present, so is great for reducing redness. In In addition to salicin, Willow Bark Extract is also high in tannins, phenolic acids, flavonoids, and various minerals. All these help to soothe the skin and aid in cell regeneration.
How does it benefit skin?
Willow bark extract is a natural exfoliator - which makes it fantastic at reducing blackheads and removing dead skin cells, leaving skin to look brighter and fresher. As it’s a natural ingredient, it’s much gentler on skin than any synthetic copies often used in skincare - that are often much too harsh on sensitive teenage skin. Some acne treatments that contain artificial versions of salicylic acid cause redness, dryness and flaking in skin and actually make breakouts worse, rather than better.