Identity
Dipotassium glycyrrhizate is the water-soluble dipotassium salt of glycyrrhizic acid, the principal active compound in the root of licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra and related species). Making it a salt is what turns a poorly-soluble plant acid into an ingredient that dissolves cleanly into water-based cosmetics, which is why this is the form that appears in serums and creams rather than glycyrrhizic acid itself.
In skincare it is a quiet, supporting ingredient found near the bottom of ingredient lists in sensitive-skin ranges, soothing serums, barrier creams, and after-sun formulas. It is well tolerated and used at low concentrations, typically around 0.1-2%.
Development & history
- Licorice root has a long traditional reputation for calming skin, and glycyrrhizic acid is the molecule behind much of it - dipotassium glycyrrhizate is the cosmetically practical, water-soluble form.
- It is CosIng-listed and used worldwide as a cosmetic soothing agent, most often as one supporting ingredient within a calming or barrier formula rather than as a headline active.
- It is frequently paired with other gentle soothers (allantoin, panthenol, centella) in sensitive-skin formulations.
Mechanism (as proposed)
The well-evidenced cosmetic role is calming the look and feel of reactive skin. Dipotassium glycyrrhizate is one of the more reliable botanically-derived comfort agents on the cosmetic shelf: at low concentrations it helps skin look less flushed and feel more comfortable, which is why it is a staple of sensitive-skin and after-sun formulas.
A secondary, supporting role in the look of a more even tone is associated with licorice actives - but here honesty about the molecule matters: the stronger tone-evening evidence in licorice attaches to glabridin and related molecules, not specifically to the glycyrrhizate salt. So as dipotassium glycyrrhizate, tone support is a supporting contribution within a formula, not its main claim.
Where scope has to be drawn clearly: glycyrrhizic acid has a genuine pharmacological literature, including therapeutic studies. That literature sits outside the scope of a cosmetic ingredient. In a cream, dipotassium glycyrrhizate supports the look and feel of calmer skin - it is not an anti-inflammatory drug and does not treat eczema, rosacea, or any condition, and it is not graded as one. Its real, well-evidenced cosmetic lane is soothing and comfort, and it is a good example of the category.