Quercetin
Explained
Quercetin is a polyphenol flavonoid that can be naturally found in plants like apples, onions, berries, and broccoli. It has antioxidant and skin soothing properties.
The anti-inflammatory research for this ingredient is pretty solid:
- It downregulates pro-inflammatory signalling proteins
- A small human study found it calmed redness and itching triggered by UV exposure, histamine, and chemical irritants
It also looks promising for anti-aging; it activates pathways tied to cellular "youthfulness" by helping the cells that produce collagen and elastin do their job better. It also switches on the "longevity" gene that keeps cells acting young.
As of right now, most of the anti-aging research has been done on animals or cells in petri dishes, but there's no harm in trying this ingredient in your routine.
Another cool perk of this ingredient?
It does a great job stabilizing the chemical UV filters avobenzone and octinoxate against sun degradation. One study found it outperformed both tocopherol and octocrylene as a photostabilizer.
The only downside (if you can even call it that) is that quercetin doesn't dissolve well in water and cannot penetrate skin easily on its own. This just means formulators pair it with delivery systems to actually get it into skin.
There is some recent buzz about this ingredient having brightening effects, but the research hasn't backed this up.
See all 139 products with Quercetin
