Ingredient Library
Vanilla
Vanilla planifolia
Vanilla is an antioxidant-rich bean whose oil comforts skin and lends a warm, natural scent. Soothing and grounding, it suits dry or stressed skin.
A natural history
Vanilla is the cured fruit of a climbing orchid, native to Mexico, where the Totonac and then the Aztec treasured its dark, fragrant pods. From its earliest history vanilla was valued as much for scent as for flavor, perfuming drinks, rooms, and the body, and it went on to become one of the most prized materials in all of perfumery, beloved for a warm, sweet aroma that reads as pure comfort.
That fragrance hides real substance for the skin. The compound behind vanilla's scent, vanillin, is a genuine antioxidant, which is why the cured bean is more than a pretty smell in a formula. True vanilla is also precious, for the orchid is pollinated and cured slowly by hand, so authentic vanilla extract, with its full spread of antioxidant compounds, is a world away from the synthetic scent that flavors most products.
What it does for your skin
Vanilla's warmth comes from vanillin, the aromatic compound that is also a documented antioxidant. In laboratory testing, vanillin showed strong free radical scavenging activity across several assays, in some outperforming vitamin C.[1] Analysis of the cured bean confirms it carries vanillin alongside related antioxidant phenolics such as vanillic and ferulic acids.[2] In a formula vanilla lends a comforting scent and a gentle antioxidant note that helps defend the look of stressed skin. Its skin specific research is limited.
References
[1] Tai A, et al. Evaluation of antioxidant activity of vanillin by using multiple antioxidant assays. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2011;1810(2):170-177. doi:10.1016/j.bbagen.2010.11.004
[2] Sinha AK, et al. Development and validation of an RP-HPLC method for quantitative determination of vanillin and related phenolic compounds in Vanilla planifolia. J Sep Sci. 2007;30(1):15-20. doi:10.1002/jssc.200600193
Found in these formulas
Questions, answered
Its compound vanillin is a documented antioxidant, so vanilla lends a gentle defending note along with its comforting natural scent.
Genuine vanilla bean extract carries antioxidant phenolics. Much inexpensive "vanilla" scent is synthetic vanillin, which provides aroma but not the bean's full phenolic profile.