Ingredient

Licorice Root Extract

A plant extract that calms redness and gently fades dark marks. A supporting ingredient, and the label rarely says how much you are getting.
Dr. Schwarz, MD · Board-certified dermatologistLast reviewed September 8, 2026
Five licorice root products on white, including two Acwell bottles, Éminence, Horbäach liquid extract and Versed

Start here

Licorice root is a good supporting ingredient, as long as you expect a supporting ingredient. It calms red, reactive skin and nudges pigment in the right direction, but it will not clear melasma alone. The frustrating part is the label — glabridin has the pigment evidence, licochalcone A has the redness evidence, dipotassium glycyrrhizate is a soothing agent, and almost no product tells you which one you are buying.

So I use it the way it deserves: as a bonus inside a formula that also has niacinamide, azelaic acid, vitamin C or a retinoid.

— Dr. Schwarz, Board Certified Dermatologist

Key Facts

−
Also calledGlycyrrhiza glabra root extract, licorice extract, glabridin, licochalcone A, dipotassium glycyrrhizate
TypePlant extract that calms redness and mildly lightens pigment
Strengths soldAlmost never printed on the label
UseMorning, night, or both
Time to work8 to 12 weeks, and the change is subtle
Prescription neededNo. It is a cosmetic ingredient everywhere.

What It Is

−

Licorice root extract comes from the root of the licorice plant, usually Glycyrrhiza glabra. In skincare it has two jobs, calming redness and lightening dark patches. It is not one substance. The root holds dozens of compounds, and which ones reach a product depends on the species and the extraction method. Three matter for skin. Glabridin is oil-soluble and behind most of the pigment research. Licochalcone A comes mainly from Glycyrrhiza inflata and is the one used for redness. Dipotassium glycyrrhizate is water-soluble and used as a soothing agent. All of them can appear on a label as some version of licorice extract, and concentrations are almost never disclosed, so the ingredient list tells you less here than for most actives. A product that names the compound is more useful than one that does not. Eating licorice is separate. As a food or supplement it can raise blood pressure and lower potassium in some people. That risk comes from swallowing it, not from applying an extract.

How It Works

−

Glabridin blocks tyrosinase, the enzyme pigment cells use to make melanin, as most brightening ingredients do. It appears not to damage the pigment cells, part of why licorice is offered as a gentle option. Another compound, liquiritin, seems to disperse pigment already made rather than prevent new pigment.

Licochalcone A works on inflammation instead. It dampens signals that drive redness, which is why it turns up in products for easily flushed and rosacea-prone skin, and in after-sun and post-procedure products.

Calming matters for pigment too. Many dark marks were created by inflammation, so lowering inflammation works on a cause, not only the mark.

The honest limit is the evidence. Most is laboratory work and small studies, often at concentrations no consumer product discloses. Licorice is well supported as a soothing ingredient and plausible as a mild brightening one. It is not in the same bracket as hydroquinone, azelaic acid or a retinoid.

Here is where Licorice Root Extract acts in the skin.

About Licorice Root Extract
Skin basics
SLOWS PIGMENT MAKINGHARD TO GET IN

Pigment is made inside melanocytes, cells spaced along the floor of the top layer of skin. Licorice Root Extract slows the enzyme they use to make it, so less new pigment reaches the surface while what is already there sheds. Mild, and calming as well as brightening.

The active in licorice is a large molecule that crosses poorly. It is a supporting brightener rather than a lead one.

The outermost layer, and the one every moisturizer is aiming at. It is dead — flattened cells stacked like bricks, with a mix of fats as the glue between them. That glue is what holds water in and keeps irritants out.

The outer layer, and the only one anything in a jar reaches. It renews itself constantly: a cell made at the bottom takes about a month to reach the surface and flake off. Most of what a skincare product does, it does here.

The living layer underneath, holding the blood vessels, the nerves and the collagen. It is where lasting change happens and it is hard to reach: most of what is sold for the skin never gets this far.

What It Treats

−

No strong evidence for any condition.

Not the Best For

−
Melasma

Melasma

Weak evidence

A common ingredient in brightening products, resting mainly on laboratory work rather than trials in people with melasma. It is gentle and unlikely to cause trouble, and it is also unlikely to be the thing that clears a patch. If a routine only has room for one active, this is not the one to pick.

Forms

−

Licorice root extract is a cosmetic ingredient. There is no prescription version for skin. It appears in serums, moisturizers, eye creams, masks and after-sun products, almost always alongside other ingredients. Licochalcone A and dipotassium glycyrrhizate are both licorice-derived, worth knowing when you read a label.

A row of Licorice Root Extract products sold as brightening serum, photographed on white.
Uneven tone
Brightening serum
Licorice with niacinamide, arbutin or tranexamic acid. The usual placement.
A row of Licorice Root Extract products sold as redness cream, photographed on white.
Listed as licochalcone A
Redness cream
Paired with soothing agents in a moisturizing base. A different product entirely.
A row of Licorice Root Extract products sold as moisturizer, photographed on white.
Everyday
Moisturizer
Partway down the list of an ordinary cream, as a calming extra.
A row of Licorice Root Extract products sold as eye cream, photographed on white.
Small area
Eye cream
Common in products sold for dark circles, where price per milliliter climbs.
A row of Licorice Root Extract products sold as after-sun or soothing gel, photographed on white.
Sore skin
After-sun or soothing gel
Listed as dipotassium glycyrrhizate, alongside aloe and panthenol.

Strengths

−

There is no strength ladder here the way there is for an acid. Concentrations are almost never printed, so the useful question is which compound, and where it sits on the ingredient list.

WeakestStrongest
Not named, low on the listNot named, high on the listNamed compoundPrescription strength
Most products
Not named, low on the list
Near the end, below the preservatives. Unlikely to be doing much.
Better
Not named, high on the list
Among the first few ingredients, so present in a meaningful amount, though you still do not know which compound.
The best case
Named compound
The label says glabridin or licochalcone A. The only time you know what the ingredient is there to do.
Does not exist
Prescription strength
If pigment or redness needs more than a cosmetic, the step up is a different ingredient, not a stronger licorice.

Basics

−
When to Apply
After cleansing, before moisturizer, morning or night or both. It is stable, does not conflict with sunscreen, makeup or other actives, and needs no special place in a routine.
How to Start
No ramp-up needed. One of the least irritating actives there is, so daily from the start.
If It Irritates
Uncommon, and usually something else in the formula, like fragrance or an alcohol base. True licorice allergy happens, so if one product causes a rash twice, stop it and note the ingredient.
If It’s Not Working
Give it three months. If a dark patch has not moved, the answer is a stronger ingredient — azelaic acid, a retinoid, cysteamine or prescription hydroquinone — not a different licorice product. Redness that has not settled is worth a medical opinion, because persistent facial redness often has a treatable cause.

Sample Routine

−

Here is where Licorice Root Extract sits in a day, and what goes around it. Pick what you are treating and what your skin is like, and the rest of the routine changes to suit.

What to Expect

−
Weeks 1 to 2Weeks 4 to 8After 12 weeks
Settling in
Weeks 1 to 2
Usually nothing to feel. Some people notice less stinging from the rest of their routine.
Working
Weeks 4 to 8
Redness looks calmer and skin more even. Subtle, and easier to see in photographs.
Judge it here
After 12 weeks
If nothing has shifted after three months of daily use, licorice is not the missing piece.

What to Avoid

−
  • Relying on it alone for melasma Melasma is stubborn, and a cosmetic extract is not a plan.
  • Products where it sits at the bottom Of the ingredient list. Below the preservatives usually means a trace, added for the front of the box.
  • Alcohol-heavy toners and scrubs On top of it, they add the irritation licorice was there to reduce.
  • Eating licorice to treat your skin As a food or supplement it can raise blood pressure and lower potassium, and it does nothing for pigment.
  • The folklore licorice gets called a natural alternative to hydroquinone. Same enzyme, nowhere near the same strength. Natural also does not mean non-irritating.

If You Stop

−

Redness that had settled returns over a few weeks if licorice was holding it down. Nothing rebounds worse than before. Pigment that faded stays faded, since the melanin was cleared rather than held back. What you lose is mild protection against new marks. There is no adaptation phase, so stop and restart freely. Many people use it seasonally, more in summer when redness and pigment are worse.

Ask Your Doctor

−
If you are pregnant or breastfeeding
Topical licorice is not well studied. Ask the doctor managing your pregnancy about the whole product, not only this ingredient.
If you have reacted to licorice before
As a food or on the skin. Allergy is uncommon but real, and it applies to the extract.
If you take oral licorice supplements
They can affect blood pressure and potassium.
If facial redness has not settled
After three months, persistent redness often has a treatable cause.
If a product stings every time you use it
Something in that formula does not suit you.
If your dark patches are unchanged
After three months, stronger options are worth discussing.

How It Compares

−
Six niacinamide products on white, including The Ordinary 10% + Zinc 1%, Paula's Choice Booster and EltaMD UV ClearLabeled cutaway diagram of a single skin pore, headed Niacinamide. The epidermis is a brick-textured band across the top and the dermis is pink below it, with a yellow oil gland at the base of the pore and a small cluster of bacteria inside it. Two callout lines point in: decreases inflammation is drawn in dark navy as the main effect, and decreases oil production is drawn in gray as a lesser one. Nothing points at the dead cells blocking the pore.

Niacinamide

Better

Better studied than licorice. Similar gentleness and a similar mild effect on redness and pigment, usually cheaper.

Five azelaic acid tubes and bottles on white, most marked 10 percent, from Peach Slices, Paula's Choice, Facetheory, The Ordinary and NaturiumLabeled cutaway diagram of a single skin pore, headed Azelaic Acid. The epidermis is a brick-textured band across the top and the dermis is pink below it, with a yellow oil gland at the base of the pore and a small cluster of bacteria inside it. Three callout lines point in: decreases dead cells in pore and kills bacteria are drawn in dark navy as main effects, and decreases inflammation is drawn in gray as a lesser one.

Azelaic acid

Better

Considerably more effective on both marks and redness, at the cost of a tingle for the first couple of weeks.

Six vitamin C products on white, including La Roche-Posay, L'Oréal Revitalift, CeraVe, Vanicream, bliss and Olay16:9 hero for Vitamin C (L-Ascorbic Acid). Never cropped: the tone strip and the corner logo depend on the full frame.

Vitamin C

Different job

Brightens and adds antioxidant protection, but it is less stable and more irritating at the strengths that work.

Hydroquinone

Hydroquinone

Better

Far more powerful on melasma, prescription-only in the United States, and used in courses rather than indefinitely.

Four cysteamine products: a Senté tube, an Omic+ cream and box, a 5% cysteamine serum dropper and a Cyspera bottle16:9 hero for Cysteamine. Never cropped: the tone strip and the corner logo depend on the full frame.

Cysteamine

Better

Much stronger on melasma and available without a prescription in some places, but unpleasant to use because of the smell.

Green tea extract and centella

The same

A similar soothing role, and the same difficulty knowing what is actually in the bottle.

Myths

+
  • “It works as well as hydroquinone.” It does not. Same enzyme, but the gap in strength and evidence is large.
  • “Natural means it cannot irritate.” Plant extracts are among the more common causes of allergic reactions in skincare. Licorice allergy is uncommon, but it exists.
  • “Licorice cream will raise my blood pressure.” That risk comes from eating licorice in quantity, not from applying an extract.
  • “Brightening means bleaching.” Brightening ingredients slow pigment production and help existing pigment clear. They do not remove color from normal skin.
  • “Any product with licorice extract will work.” Which compound, and how much, decide whether anything happens. Most labels tell you neither.

Questions Patients Ask

+

Does licorice root extract actually fade dark marks?

Mildly, and slowly. Glabridin blocks the same enzyme stronger brightening ingredients target. The effect is real in laboratory work and small studies but modest, and most products do not say how much glabridin they contain. Treat it as a helper alongside something stronger.

What is the difference between licorice extract and licochalcone A?

Different species, different jobs. Licochalcone A, mainly from Glycyrrhiza inflata, is for redness. Glabridin, from Glycyrrhiza glabra, is the pigment one. A label saying only licorice root extract does not tell you which you have.

Will licorice cream affect my blood pressure?

No. That comes from eating licorice, where glycyrrhizin can raise blood pressure and lower potassium in people who have a lot of it. Applying an extract to the face is a different exposure.

Is it a good choice for deeper skin tones?

Yes, and its gentleness helps in skin that marks easily, because irritation itself causes dark patches. The limitation is the same for everyone — it is mild. Melasma and long-standing marks need something stronger.

Can I use it with retinol, vitamin C or acids?

Yes. It layers with everything, and it is often added to make harsher actives easier to tolerate.

How do I tell whether a product has enough of it?

Usually you cannot. Two signals help — where it sits on the ingredient list, and whether the brand names the compound. Neither is proof, but a product naming glabridin or licochalcone A has told you more.

References

+