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Bisabolol in Skin Care Products

Bisabolol
In this article
  1. Bisabolol in skin care
  2. Benefits
  3. 5 best skin care products with bisabolol:
  4. Anti-inflammatory Benefits of Bisabolol
  5. Skin Lightening
  6. Find more Skin Care products with Bisabolol
  7. Best References and Scientific Publications on Bisabolol:

This article is for education and is not medical advice. It does not create a doctor-patient relationship. See a board-certified dermatologist for a diagnosis.

Bisabolol in skin care

Bisabololย is a soothing anti-inflammatory skincare ingredient that contains panthenol. It is also called ฮฑ-bisabolol or levomenol, This terpene comes from various plants such as chamomile, cannabis and the candeia tree.

It also helps other skin care products absorb better when they are layered together. (4)

Bisabolol in skin care

Benefits

What does bisablol do for the skin?

Bisabolol is:

Bisabolol is often used in skin care products for sensitive skinย and is one of the best skincare ingredients for redness and rosacea.

The chamomile plant is a common source of natural bisabolol

5 best skin care products with bisabolol:

Is bisabolol good for the skin?

Is Bisabolol good for the face?

Bisabolol works well to treat many skin consitions and is often used to treat sensitive skin. It is one of the most commonly used anti-redness ingredients.

It can be used to soothe skin on the face

It is usually combined with other anti-redness ingredients.

Shop by your skin type to find the right bisabolol face products for your skin.

What is your Baumann Skin Type?

Find out which of the 16 Baumann Skin Types you are in about 3 minutes, then shop only what's approved for your skin.

Take the quiz

What is your Baumann Skin Type?

Finish the free quiz to find out which ingredients and products are right for your skin.

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Is this right for your skin?

Dr. Baumann already picked the ingredients that are right for your skin type. They are in your routine.

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Anti-inflammatory Benefits of Bisabolol

  • Acne- Helps get rid of the redness from pimples, papules and pustules and make the red marks from acne go away faster.

  • Sensitive Skin- Found in many anti-inflammatory skincare products intended to soothe and calm skin.

  • Rosacea- Helps prevent and treat facial redness.

  • Eczema- When combined with barrier repair moisturizers will help sooth eczema prone skin.

  • Psoriasis- Helps calm and soothe itchy skin from psoriasis.
Bisabolol for dark spots

Skin Lightening

Bisabolol has been shown to have a weak skin lightening effect butย is not as strong as other skin lightening ingredients.

By soothing inflammation it may help prevent some hyperpigmentation.

We recommend combining bisabolol with other types of skin lightening ingredients for best results such as:

Also make sure the moisturizers in your skin care routine have unsaturated fatty acids.

Learn more about skin care routines to treat hyperpigmentation here.

Or take the quizย and we will tell you which medical grade products and brandsย are best for you to use.

Side Effects

Bisabolol has been shown to cause a skin allergyย in susceptible people. It is a component of chamomile so anyone allergic to the Compositae family of plants is more likely to get a rash from bisabolol.ย 

When to avoid using bisabolol in skin care products

Bisabolol comes from the Asteraceae (or Compositae) family of plants. It's one of the largest families of flowering plants, and individuals who are allergic to one member of this family, such as ragweed, may potentially react to other members due to cross-reactivity. This is not always the case for everyone, but it's worth being aware of the possibility.

If you have a ragweed allergy, you might react to other plants in the Asteraceae family. Some of these include:

  1. Ragweed itself, which has various species like common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) and giant ragweed (Ambrosia trifida).
  2. Chamomile -ย even the tea may bother you
  3. Echinacea โ€“ often used in supplements and teas to boost the immune system.
  4. Chrysanthemums โ€“ a common flowering plant.
  5. Marigolds- the extract is in skin care products
  6. Dandelions.
  7. Sunflowers โ€“ This includes sunflower seeds and sunflower oil, although the oil rarely causes reactions since it usually lacks the protein that triggers the allergy.
  8. Tansy.
  9. Wormwood or artemisia โ€“ which is used to make absinthe.
  10. Lettuce.
  11. Endive.
  12. Sagebrush.
  13. Dahlias.
  14. Goldenrod.

Additionally, it's not just direct contact or ingestion that can cause problems. In some cases, inhaling the pollen from these plants can trigger allergic reactions.

Bisabolol structure

Is bisabolol toxic?

No Bisabolol is not toxic.

Bisabolol is considered a clean ingredient.

It is rated 1-2 by the EWG.

Find more Skin Care products with Bisabolol

What is your Baumann Skin Type?

Find out which of the 16 Baumann Skin Types you are in about 3 minutes, then shop only what's approved for your skin.

Take the quiz

What is your Baumann Skin Type?

Finish the free quiz to find out which ingredients and products are right for your skin.

Finish the quiz

Is this right for your skin?

Dr. Baumann already picked the ingredients that are right for your skin type. They are in your routine.

See my routine
Level up your skin care knowledge with medical advice from dermatologists

Best References and Scientific Publications on Bisabolol:

  1. Russell, K., & Jacob, S. E. (2010). Bisabolol. Dermatitisยฎ, 21(1), 57-58.
  2. Jacob, S. E., Matiz, C., & Herro, E. M. (2011). Compositae-associated allergic contact dermatitis from bisabolol. Dermatitis, 22(2), 102-105.
  3. Lee, J., Jun, H., Jung, E., Ha, J., & Park, D. (2010). Whitening effect of ฮฑ?bisabolol in Asian women subjects. International journal of cosmetic science, 32(4), 299-303.
  4. Herman, A., & Herman, A. P. (2015). Essential oils and their constituents as skin penetration enhancer for transdermal drug delivery: a review. Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 67(4), 473-485.
  5. Kadir, R., & Barry, B. W. (1991). ฮฑ-Bisabolol, a possible safe penetration enhancer for dermal and transdermal therapeutics. International journal of pharmaceutics, 70(1-2), 87-94.
  6. Gao, X., Zhang, Y., Wang, W., Zhang, Z., Li, C., & Lou, H. (2022). ฮฑ-bisabolol exerts anti-inflammatory action and ameliorates collagen-induced arthritis in rats. Indian Journal of Animal Research, 56(8), 1010-1016.
  7. Li, G., Wu, H., Sun, L., Cheng, K., Lv, Z., Chen, K., ... & Li, Y. (2022). (-)-ฮฑ-Bisabolol alleviates atopic dermatitis by inhibiting MAPK and NF-ฮบB signaling in mast cell. Molecules, 27(13), 3985.
  8. Martins, M. S., Ferreira, M. S., Almeida, I. F., & Sousa, E. (2022). Occurrence of Allergens in Cosmetics for Sensitive Skin. Cosmetics, 9(2), 32.
  9. Ramazani, E., Akaberi, M., Emami, S. A., & Tayarani-Najaran, Z. (2022). Pharmacological and biological effects of alpha-bisabolol: An updated review of the molecular mechanisms. Life Sciences, 304, 120728.
  10. AlSalem, S., & Alexis, A. (2023). Melasma hyperpigmentation: An overview of current topical therapeutics. Dermatological Reviews, 4(1), 38-52.
  11. Draelos, Z. D., & Diaz, I. (2023). The clinical benefit of a multimodal topical approach to treating skin dyspigmentation. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology.
  12. Lee, J., Jun, H., Jung, E., Ha, J., & Park, D. (2010). Whitening effect of ฮฑโ€bisabolol in Asian women subjects. International journal of cosmetic science, 32(4), 299-303.
Dr. Leslie Baumann

Dr. Leslie Baumann, MD, FAAD

Board-certified dermatologist, author and researcher, and creator of the Baumann Skin Type System. A former professor at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, where she founded the Cosmetic Dermatology Center in 1997. Author of the New York Times bestseller The Skin Type Solution, Cosmetic Dermatology: Principles and Practice, and Cosmeceuticals and Cosmetic Ingredients.

Have any additional questions? Ask Dr. Baumann on Reddit! r/SkinTypeSolutions Ask on Reddit (opens in a new tab)

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