Centella Asiatica (Cica): What It Does and How to Use It

Centella asiatica, the plant behind K-beauty's cica products, is used to make stressed skin look and feel calmer. Its plant compounds help your skin hold water and settle the look of redness, so a centella toner, ampoule or cream is a low-risk way to steady reactive, easily flushed skin. You can use it morning and night.

What is centella asiatica, and what does it do?

Centella asiatica is a small herb that grows in wetlands across Asia. You will see it on labels as cica, gotu kola or tiger grass, all the same plant. The active part is an extract built on four compounds: madecassoside, asiaticoside, madecassic acid and asiatic acid.

INCIDecoder's ingredient breakdown groups these as centellosides and notes their antioxidant and moisturising properties, partly because they nudge your skin to make more of its own hyaluronic acid. That is the short version of why the extract turns up in almost every Korean calming formula.

It does two useful things. The first is comfort: skin that feels tight and hot after cleansing, or stingy after a long day in the Australian sun, tends to feel calmer once a centella layer goes on. The second is how skin looks.

With steady use, blotchiness and the look of redness settle, so your face reads more even and rested. Most centella formulas are light and watery, so they add a bit of hydration without a heavy finish.

How does centella actually work?

Think of your skin barrier as a wall that keeps water in and daily irritation out. When that wall is run down, usually from over-exfoliating or a strong new active, skin turns reactive. It flushes easily, stings when you apply things, and looks pink around the nose and cheeks.

Centella's compounds support that barrier and help skin hold on to water, which gives reactive skin the quiet conditions it needs to settle. If you want the mechanics of the wall itself, our guide on how ceramides reinforce your skin barrier covers the bricks-and-mortar part in more detail.

Here is the part that makes it click. Reactive skin behaves like a smoke detector set far too sensitive, the kind that shrieks at a slice of toast instead of a real fire. Small triggers, a warm shower, a new active, an afternoon in the sun, set off the alarm: nerve endings near the surface fire, tiny blood vessels widen, and blood rushes up so your face flushes pink and stings. Nothing is genuinely wrong, the alarm is just too jumpy.

What centella's compounds do is turn that sensitivity dial back down. They quiet the signals that tell those vessels to open and settle the low-grade inflammation that keeps the alarm primed, so skin stops overreacting to things it should be able to shrug off. That is why calmer skin looks less pink and feels less stingy: the alarm still works for real problems, it just stops going off at every little thing.

The evidence here is better than most plant-extract marketing.

In a 2025 observational study, 88 people with sensitive skin used a cream pairing centella with ceramide and panthenol twice a day; over four weeks their skin held water better and the look of facial redness eased, with self-rated sensitivity scores dropping sharply (the study is here).Be honest about the limits, though: that was one formula on one group of people, and centella is a supporting player, not a miracle.Because it runs light, it pairs well with dedicated humectants, so if plain hydration is your goal, a hyaluronic acid serum or a glycerin-based layer does more of that work.

How do you use centella in a routine?

Centella is about as low-effort as skincare gets.

As a toner, pat it on after cleansing for a hydrated base. As an ampoule or serum, it sits after your toner and before moisturiser, and this is usually where the centella concentration runs highest. As a cream, it works as the last calming layer, which is where a lot of people like it at night.

You do not need all three.

Pick the format that fits where your routine has a gap and use it daily, rather than rotating through several half-used bottles. If your skin is touchy right now, start with one product two or three nights a week and build up, so you can actually tell what is helping.

What should you look for on the label?

How serious a centella product is comes down to how much centella it actually contains, and what it is paired with.

Korean products often print the amount as a ppm figure. Higher is not automatically better, but it does tell you centella is a lead ingredient rather than a token splash for the label.

For reference, our own Wha'yunsul Centella Soothing Ampoule is built around 90,000ppm of centella extract and backs it with niacinamide, panthenol and allantoin, the usual supporting cast in Korean calming formulas.

While your skin is reactive, keep everything else boring: gentle cleanser, centella step, moisturiser, and sunscreen in the morning. Save the new experiments for when your skin has calmed down.

Can you use centella with tretinoin and other strong actives?

Yes, and this is where centella earns its place.

Strong actives such as retinoids and exfoliating acids can leave skin dry and irritable while it adjusts, and vitamin C can do the same at higher strengths. A centella layer alongside them keeps things comfortable enough that you actually stick with the active.

A common approach is the sandwich: moisturiser first, then the active, then a calming centella cream on top to buffer it. If your retinoid came with directions from a prescriber, follow those first. Centella also pairs neatly with brighteners, so if you are building that kind of routine, we have covered how niacinamide works for brighter-looking skin and what to layer niacinamide with and what to skip in separate guides.

Further reading: Is Centella OK to Use With Tretinoin? A Layering Guide

The short version

Centella is a low-drama way to make reactive skin feel and look calmer, and it is hard to get wrong. Pick one format, use it consistently, and pay more attention to the concentration and the supporting ingredients than to the marketing on the front. If you are layering it with tretinoin or acids, buffer with a cream and go slow.

FAQ

Is centella asiatica good for sensitive or reactive skin?

It is one of the gentler options, yes. Centella is used to make reactive skin look and feel calmer rather than to do anything dramatic, and in a 2025 study of people with sensitive skin, a centella cream lowered the look of facial redness over four weeks. Patch test first if you react to a lot of products.

Can you use centella every day, morning and night?

Yes. Centella is low-strength and layers well with most other ingredients, so daily morning and night use is fine for most people. If your skin is touchy right now, start with one product a few nights a week and build up.

Does a higher centella ppm mean a better product?

Not on its own. A high ppm tells you centella is a lead ingredient rather than a trace amount, but the supporting ingredients and how the formula feels on your skin matter just as much. Do not buy on the ppm number alone.

Can you use centella with retinol or tretinoin?

Generally yes, and many people use a centella cream to buffer a retinoid so it feels more comfortable while skin adjusts. Follow any directions that came with a prescribed retinoid first, and go slowly.

How long does centella take to work?

The comfort part is quick, and skin often feels less tight soon after you apply it. The visible part, calmer and more even-looking skin, usually takes a few weeks of steady use to show.