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Botanical Library · The Gentle Brightener
Licorice Root for Skin
Glycyrrhiza glabra
The one botanical in this library that does two different things to pigment at once — and the gentlest serious brightener we know of.
At a glance
What it is
Licorice is a perennial legume — a relative of peas and beans — grown across South Asia, China and the Middle East, and used in traditional medicine for thousands of years. The root is the part with the chemistry.
The confectionery association is a distraction. The compound that makes licorice taste sweet, glycyrrhizin, is not the compound doing the brightening.
Two mechanisms, one plant
Almost every brightening ingredient does one job: stop new pigment being made. Licorice does that and something else.
Glabridin inhibits tyrosinase — the rate-limiting enzyme in melanin production — and suppresses UV-induced pigmentation. It stops new pigment at the source.
Liquiritin works on pigment that already exists, helping to disperse and redistribute melanin rather than prevent it.
Stopping production and breaking up what is already there are different problems. Very few single ingredients address both.
The wider chemistry
Licorice extract is more than glabridin, and that turns out to matter.
- Glabrene and isoliquiritigenin — two further polyphenols shown to inhibit tyrosinase. Researchers found the whole extract inhibited the enzyme more than its glabridin content alone would predict, meaning these are contributing.
- Licochalcone A — strongly anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, particularly useful for reactive, red-prone skin.
- Glycyrrhizin — the sweet one; mild anti-inflammatory contribution.
That combination is why licorice suits people whose pigmentation comes from inflammation — post-blemish marks, irritation-driven darkening. It works on both ends of that loop at once. If pigment is your concern, our guide to fading dark spots on Florida skin covers the wider strategy.
How strong is the evidence?
Good, with honest limits. In a double-blind study of 18 subjects, a glabridin-containing formula reduced UV-induced hyperpigmentation more than both an untreated control and a 4% hydroquinone cream. A separate single-blind study found 7% licorice comparable to 2% hydroquinone.
Read those numbers carefully. Eighteen subjects is small. And the widely-quoted claim that glabridin is “16 times more effective than hydroquinone” comes from isolated cell studies, not from faces. Cells in a dish and skin on a person are not the same test.
What we take from it: licorice is a genuinely effective brightener that works without the irritation that limits stronger agents. It is slower than a prescription. It is also something you can use for months without your barrier complaining, which is often what actually determines results.
How to use it
Licorice rewards patience. Pigment responds to consistency rather than intensity — expect to think in months, not weeks, and to keep going once it improves.
It layers well with vitamin C and green tea, and multi-active brightening formulas generally outperform single ingredients. Morning or evening both work.
None of it counts without sunscreen. Brightening while unprotected is refilling a bath with the plug out — UV drives the pigment production you are trying to reduce. In Southwest Florida that is the whole game.
Where does this fit for you?
Home care is half the equation. Our guides connect it to the other half.
Where we use it
Sun-Damage Brightening Facial
Our brightening treatment uses galvanic current to carry brightening actives deeper than they would otherwise go. Licorice is the gentle end of that toolkit. Because pigment responds to consistency, this one is built to run as a series — see the Bright & Even Journey. Aftercare: Sun-Damage Brightening guide.
Deep-Cleansing Acne Facial
If your marks are what breakouts leave behind rather than sun damage, the priority is calming the inflammation that creates them. Aftercare: acne guide.
See also sunflower for barrier support during brightening, and magnolia bark if redness is part of the picture.
Sources
- The Use of Botanical Extracts in East Asia for Treatment of Hyperpigmentation: An Evidence-Based Review. Journal of Drugs in Dermatology.
- Nerya O. et al. Glabrene and Isoliquiritigenin as Tyrosinase Inhibitors from Licorice Roots.
- From In Vitro Tyrosinase Inhibition to a Double-Blind Randomized Placebo-Controlled Clinical Study. Cosmetics, 2023.
- Potential of Licorice Root Extract for the Treatment of Hyperpigmentation: Literature Review.
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Lumina Skin Sanctuary is a licensed esthetician studio in Fort Myers, FL — not a medical spa. We care for the appearance of the skin and do not diagnose or treat melasma, hyperpigmentation disorders or any medical condition, and nothing here is medical advice. Persistent or changing pigmentation should be assessed by a physician or dermatologist. Patch-test new products.