Mallow Extract: A Flower with Hidden Secrets
So What Is It?
Mallow extract comes from the purple mallow flower, also known as the Malva sylvestris. Despite being native to Europe and North Africa, this flower grows all over the world including in North America.
Much like the ingredient, it’s often confused for, mallow blossoms and leaves are edible and can be found in Middle Eastern and Chinese dishes. Mallow extract, which comes from the flowers, leaves, and/or seeds of the mallow plant, has long been used for its medicinal properties. This includes treating inflammatory, respiratory, and digestive problems. What makes it a star ingredient in skincare is its ability to heal and soothe skin.
How It’s Made?
The process for making mallow extract is quite simple. It comes from the flowers, leaves, and/or seeds of the mallow flower. A manufacturer takes those components and creates mallow extract typically in one of two ways: turning it into a powder or oil via a cold process.
If prepared via a cold process, the mallow extract is less likely to lose effectiveness versus if it went through heat treatment.
What It Does to Your Skin
With all the benefits that come with using mallow extract, it’s about to become your best friend. It’s known for pluming the skin, smoothing out fine lines, and rejuvenating dry skin. Those are just some of the reasons it’s a great ingredient for anti-aging products.
Mallow extract is also known for being a great treatment for acne, eczema, and atopic dermatitis because of its anti-inflammatory properties. It can also soften and condition the skin so you can get the silky smooth skin you want. It’s able to do this because of the mucilage, polysaccharides, and tannins in mallow extract. This makes it ideal for sensitive skin.
Since it’s a great skin conditioner, mallow extract can promote overall skin health. It even reduces the negative effects of UV rays like dark spots, loose skin, sunburn, and potential cancer-causing DNA damage.
Mallow extract also has antibacterial properties which makes it an effective ingredient for wound healing products.
Good News for Those Worried About Allergies
If you’re somebody with sensitive skin or a plethora of allergies to common skincare ingredients, you’re in luck. According to EWG, there are no reported adverse reactions to mallow extract. There are no real reported problems as far as research shows.
With that being said, research on mallow extract is very limited. Always consult your dermatologist if you have concerns.
All The Ways to Use It
So now that we know the benefits, let’s take all the ways you can use mallow extract. Besides the skin conditions we mentioned before, it has been used for centuries to relieve burns and help heal insect bites. Its anti-inflammatory properties make it a great addition to topical solutions and creams for a variety of other skin conditions.
Mallow extract is also commonly found in face serums made to improve the skin’s overall look and feel. As well, it’s a great moisturizer because it’s great at delivering moisture without making the skin greasy. It can also be used in exfoliants to reduce any aggravation.
It’s also great in eye creams, especially when paired with hyaluronic acid and ceramides, to quench dehydrated skin and make dull skin glow. As well, it’s proven to help skin hold on to its elasticity.
It can also be used in bath capsules, bubble baths, bath oils, and bath salts. These products help enhance this go-to self-care activity, and the mallow extract softens and moisturizes the skin. As we’ve stated before, mallow extract has major moisturizing power which is why it’s great as a moisturizer and or moisturizer.
A more surprising way to use mallow extract is in foot powders and sprays. Its anti-bacterial properties make it ideal to break down the bacteria that comes with sweaty feet, and by extension the smell that comes with it.
Mallow extract’s anti-bacterial properties also make it ideal as a skin cleanser. It can help remove dirt, oil, makeup, and even dead skin cells. It unclogs pores and helps prevent and treat acne, all without drying out the skin.
What The Experts Have to Say
We love it, EWG loves it, and so does Skin Safe. They listed mallow extract as:
Teen safe
Baby safe
Eyelid safe
Lip safe
Common preservative-free
Paraben-free
Soy-free
Gluten-free
Irritant free
The Derm Review also stated that “mallow extract is very soothing and is used particularly in treating inflammatory skin conditions, such as acne, eczema and atopic dermatitis. Overall, mallow extract is very mild and is ideal for the care of sensitive skin.”
The Takeaway
We are giving the green light for mallow extract. It has incredible benefits, a variety of uses, and there’s little to no chance of it causing problems for your skin. You might just thank us for telling you about it.
