Ingredient Spotlight: Alpine Willowherb

Ingredient Spotlight · Plant Active

Alpine Willowherb

The flower of the high peaks. Growing on scree and freshly disturbed ground, willowherb is traditionally known for its soothing, rebalancing action on sensitized mature skin.

The portrait of a pioneer flower, at the heart of Le Sérum – Excellence Code.

SoothingRebalancingAnti-AgingAntioxidantAlpine Origin
Discover Le Sérum – Excellence Code
Common name
Alpine willowherb, fireweed, rosebay willowherb.
INCI name
Epilobium Angustifolium Extract / Flower Extract.
Family, type
Onagraceae; mountain pioneer plant, soothing and antioxidant extract.
Found in nature
Alpine massifs and temperate high-altitude areas, on scree, burned clearings or freshly disturbed ground, where it's among the first to recolonize the soil.
How it's obtained
The flowering tops are harvested, then undergo water-glycerin extraction and filtration.
Typical concentration
0.5% to 2% extract.
Organoleptic properties
Appearance: yellow-brown liquid; Scent: light, green.
Physical characteristics
Water-soluble; rich in polyphenols (including oenothein B) and flavonoids, traditionally studied for their soothing and antioxidant properties1,2.
Benefits
Soothing, rebalancing, antioxidant, anti-aging, repairing.
Cosmetic indications
Sensitized mature skin lacking balance; as a complement to a global anti-aging routine.

Did you know?A little history

After a forest fire or a rockslide, willowherb is often the first plant to cover the bare ground, hence its English nickname, fireweed.

This ability to settle on weakened ground and stabilize it inspired its traditional use in European herbal medicine, to soothe irritated tissue. Cosmetic research then turned to its polyphenols for their antioxidant potential on mature skin1.

Yon-Ka chose it for Le Sérum in the Excellence Code line, alongside hyaluronic acid and white lupine.

General useRebalancing mature skin

With age, skin sometimes becomes more reactive to temperature changes, cosmetics or stress. Traditionally soothing extracts like willowherb help calm this hyper-reactivity without weighing down the formula2.

A high-altitude plant: grown in extreme conditions of light and cold, Alpine willowherb develops a particularly rich concentration of defensive polyphenols.

Cosmetic useIts properties on skin

  • SoothingIt calms the discomfort of sensitized mature skin1.
  • RebalancingIt helps skin regain its balance in the face of external aggressors.
  • AntioxidantIts polyphenols protect skin from oxidative stress2.
  • Anti-agingAlongside the formula's other actives, it helps prevent the signs of time.
  • RepairingIt supports the skin's natural regeneration mechanisms.

FormulationAlpine willowherb at Yon-Ka

Flowering top extract

Epilobium Angustifolium Extract

One of the actives of the Excellence Code line, paired with hyaluronic acid and white lupine in Le Sérum for global, soothing anti-aging action.

Le Sérum – Excellence Code

In cosmeticsUses

  • Global anti-aging serums;
  • Care for sensitized mature skin.

The Yon-Ka approach

The Excellence Code line pairs highly technical actives, like hyaluronic acid and lupine peptides, with more discreet plant extracts like willowherb, which soothe the skin while it restructures.

The science of the active, the sensoriality of the plant.

How to useAdding it to your ritual

  1. Morning and evening
    Le Sérum on face and neck after Lotion Yon-Ka, before your Excellence Code cream.
  2. As a course
    The anti-aging benefits build over several weeks of regular use.

Good to knowStorage and precautions

A stable extract; close your bottle tightly after use.

Well tolerated when applied topically, with no known contraindications, including during pregnancy.

Go furtherSources

  1. Research on the properties of Epilobium angustifolium and its polyphenols. PubMed
  2. COSMILE Europe (Cosmetics Europe), cosmetic ingredient database, Epilobium Angustifolium Extract. cosmileeurope.eu
Selection

Our Alpine willowherb treatment

The Yon-Ka formula where willowherb is one of the key actives.

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