Licorice root in skincare is not one ingredient

Licorice root (Glycyrrhiza glabra) is one of the better-documented botanicals in cosmetic chemistry, and also one of the most loosely labeled. The word on the ingredient list can mean a whole-root extract, a fraction standardized for a single molecule, a compound taken from a different licorice species altogether, or a synthesized derivative that shares nothing with the others except a common ancestor. Those are not interchangeable, and a product that says licorice root extract tells you very little on its own.

This page is about telling them apart. The three names worth learning are glabridin, liquiritin and glycyrrhizin, plus licochalcone A, which is not from G. glabra at all. Once you can read those off a label, the rest of the licorice conversation gets much simpler.

The word licorice on a label covers at least five different ingredients.

Licorice is the root of Glycyrrhiza glabra (European licorice) and its relatives, principally G. uralensis (Chinese licorice) and G. inflata (Asian inflated licorice). The plants grow across Mediterranean Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia and parts of China. The root is harvested, dried and processed into extracts for medicinal, culinary and cosmetic use, and the compounds that matter in skincare are concentrated differently in each species and each extraction route.

These are the forms you will actually encounter:

• Licorice root extract (whole). A broad-spectrum aqueous or ethanolic extract. Everything is present; nothing is concentrated.
• Standardized glabridin extract (around 40%). Concentrated for the most-studied pigmentation-related active.
• Licochalcone A. Sourced from Glycyrrhiza inflata, not from European licorice.
• Dipotassium glycyrrhizinate. A water-soluble derivative of glycyrrhetinic acid.
• Stearyl glycyrrhetinate. The oil-soluble counterpart, used in cream and balm phases.

The practical consequence is that two products can both claim licorice and share almost no chemistry. One may be a dilute whole-root extract sitting near the bottom of the ingredient list; the other may be a standardized fraction chosen for one specific mechanism.

Glabridin is the fraction the pigmentation research is about.

Glabridin is an isoflavan from G. glabra root and the most-studied natural tyrosinase inhibitor in the cosmetic literature. The described mechanism is direct: glabridin binds the active site of tyrosinase, the enzyme that catalyses the conversion of tyrosine to dopaquinone, which is the rate-limiting step in melanin biosynthesis. Inhibition rates of 50 to 80% have been measured in standardized assays. That is the same enzyme hydroquinone acts on, at lower potency and without prescription status.

A second mechanism is described alongside it. Licorice extracts have been studied for suppression of tyrosinase mRNA expression, meaning the cell is described as producing less of the enzyme over time rather than simply having existing enzyme blocked. Research also reports effects on UV-induced melanin production specifically, where the pigmentation and inflammatory pathways overlap.

Liquiritin is the other pigment-side fraction from the same plant. It is described in the literature as acting through melanin dispersion, with secondary tyrosinase inhibition, so it is a different route to a related endpoint rather than a weaker copy of glabridin.

Licochalcone A comes from a different species entirely.

This is where most confusion starts. Licochalcone A is not a purified form of glabridin and is not sourced from European licorice. It comes from Glycyrrhiza inflata, and its documented activity is anti-inflammatory rather than pigment-related. The described pathways are multiple: NF-κB inhibition, leukotriene reduction and prostaglandin modulation. Glycyrrhetinic acid works in the same territory through its own route.

Licochalcone A appears in formulations aimed at reactive, easily-reddened skin, and has been studied in the context of eczema-prone and rosacea-pattern skin. The two halves of the licorice story do compound in one specific way that is worth understanding: skin irritation is a driver of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, so a formulation carrying both a pigment-side fraction and an anti-irritant fraction is addressing two ends of the same sequence. That is why premium formulations often use both rather than choosing.

Glycyrrhizin and its derivatives are the solubility question, not the potency question.

Glycyrrhizin is the saponin that gives licorice root its sweetness and is the precursor to glycyrrhetinic acid, produced by hydrolyzis. Both are studied for anti-inflammatory activity, and glycyrrhetinic acid additionally for mild antimicrobial activity. Neither is a pigmentation active.

Where formulators actually make a decision here is solubility. Dipotassium glycyrrhizinate is water soluble and goes into toners, essences and the water phase of an emulsion. Stearyl glycyrrhetinate is oil soluble and goes into creams and anhydrous balms. Seeing one of those two names on a label tells you which phase of the formula the licorice is sitting in, and very little about how much of it is there.

The polyphenolic content of licorice extracts also contributes antioxidant activity, described as neutralizing reactive oxygen species generated by UV exposure and normal metabolism. It complements dedicated antioxidants such as vitamin C and vitamin E rather than replacing them.

Standardization decides whether any of this matters.

Extract quality varies meaningfully, and it is the single most useful thing to check. A whole-plant extract carries far lower active concentrations than a standardized glabridin extract, so two products can cite identical research and behave nothing alike. Read the ingredient list for the specific name and, where a brand publishes it, the standardization percentage.

Three honest limits are worth stating. Licorice does not match hydroquinone's strength; hydroquinone is the prescription reference point, banned in the EU and restricted in US over-the-counter use, and licorice is the gentler alternative with a different risk profile. Nothing in this category works on a scale of days: the published work on tyrosinase-inhibiting actives describes gradual, cumulative change measured over weeks and months, not a visible before-and-after. And no pigmentation active removes the need for daily sunscreen, because unprotected UV exposure regenerates pigment faster than any of these compounds work on it.

On tolerance, topical licorice at cosmetic concentrations has a long and uneventful record, and is generally well tolerated even by sensitive skin. Allergic reactions are rare; patch test if you react to legume-family plants (Fabaceae, which includes peanuts, soybeans and peas). Topical licorice is not associated with photosensitivity, and no topical drug interactions are documented. The one distinction that genuinely matters is topical versus oral: high-dose oral licorice, especially over extended periods, can affect blood pressure and is contraindicated in pregnancy and in some cardiovascular conditions, while topical cosmetic use is considered a separate and much lower-stakes question.

WhollyKaw uses licorice root in exactly one product.

Licorice is not spread across the WhollyKaw line. It appears in one place, formulated alongside other actives rather than as a solo headline ingredient:

• Night Toning Cream: licorice with turmeric, malabar kino and vitamin C, as an overnight combination rather than a single-active product.

Related: Turmeric, licorice's partner in the Night Toning Cream · Vitamin C, which acts on the same enzyme by another route · Niacinamide.