A mighty flower protect your skin from UV damage
I’m just going to jump right out there and say that I'm completely obsessed with calendula as a skincare ingredient! This beautiful and potent flower has been used medicinally for centuries as a wound healing agent, and the more that modern science explores calendula’s biochemistry, the more it appears that these ancient healers were on to something.
Calendula (Calendula officinalis) is a bright orange-yellow flower in the daisy family. It’s often referred to as a marigold so you probably already know what I’m talking about. Traditionally, the calendula flower has been used in tinctures and decoctions as a treatment to heal wounds. Turns out that many of the chemical compounds that make calendula extract a treatment for wounds are also responsible for making it an effective suncare treatment.
First, let's take a quick detour into collagen – bear with me. Collagen is a protein that forms the main structural support for your skin cells (in science-land, we call this the intercellular or extracellular matrix). It comes in many different types and can form different types of structures, but the gist is that collagen is extremely important to supporting your skin’s primary goal of keeping you healthy and safe. Collagen production slows down naturally as we age, but that can be accelerated by environmental factors, and it turns out that calendula can help slow this loss.
Collagen is a pretty robust protein, and it resists most forms of degradation. However, there are a group of enzymes called Matrix Metallopeptidases (MMP’s) that effectively break down collagen. In a study published by the National Institutes of Health, scientists demonstrated how exposure to UV radiation leads to increased production of MMP’s in our skin, which leads to collagen damage and can accelerate the signs of aging in our skin.
Okay, now back to calendula and why I love using it in my skincare routine. It turns out that calendula has several chemical compounds that inhibit the ability of MMP’s to damage collagen. Essentially it can help mitigate some of the causes of photoaging in our skin. This ability to protect collagen also helps explain how calendula extracts can help support wound healing.
On top of all of that, a thorough study on the myriad chemical compounds found in calendula, scientists found loads of potent antioxidants and anti-inflammatories that can relieve stress on our skin cells, reduce redness and irritation, and help even skin tone.
Calendula is a beautiful and potent little flower and is another great example of the amazing power of plants to keep your skin healthy and beautiful.
We love it so much we've included Calendula in many of our products.
Calendula is a beautiful and potent little flower and is another great example of the amazing power of plants to keep your skin healthy and beautiful.
Check out our Calendula Collection:
Data References:
Quan T, Qin Z, Xia W, Shao Y, Voorhees JJ, Fisher GJ. Matrix-degrading metalloproteinases in photoaging. J Investig Dermatol Symp Proc. 2009 Aug;14(1):20-4. doi: 10.1038/jidsymp.2009.8. PMID: 19675548; PMCID: PMC2909639.
Belal, A., Elanany, M.A., Raafat, M., Hamza, H.T., & Mehany, A.B. (2022). Calendula officinalis Phytochemicals for the Treatment of Wounds Through Matrix Metalloproteinases-8 and 9 (MMP-8 and MMP-9): In Silico Approach. Natural Product Communications, 17.
Verma, P., Raina, R., Agarwal, S., Kour, H. Phytochemical ingredients and pharmacological potential of Calendula officinalis Linn. Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Research. 2018 Jun.