Historically, flower, fruit, and nut extracts have been popular ingredients to include in skincare products. This might be because they smell nice, but oftentimes, they also give our skin some sort of benefit. In the case of the Arnica Montana flower, many people use this extract for benefits like the reduction of inflammation, bruising, and skin discoloration.
Today let’s discuss the Arnica montana flower, a scar management ingredient in our Scar Esthetique silicone scar cream in depth, going over Arnica montana extract benefits, why we choose to use Arnica montana for skin discoloration, and answering a common question: what is Arnica montana good for?
What Is The Arnica Montana Flower?
Arnica montana is a European flowering plant that is most common in the mountains (this is where “montana” comes from). It has a yellow sunflower and daisy-like flower since Arnica montana is in the daisy family. One of the common nicknames for Arnica montana is “wolf’s bane”一 in addition to leopard’s bane, mountain tobacco, mountain arnica, etc.
Is Arnica Montana Toxic?
A common question people have when they hear that Arnica montana is also referred to as “wolf’s bane” is if Arnica montana is toxic. Though this flower can be moderately toxic when ingested and taken internally (as many botanical ingredients are), it is completely harmless when used topically. The confusion likely arises from the nickname “wolf’s bane”一 for although Arnica montana is just one of the flowers referred to as “wolf’s bane”, most people are actually thinking of the Aconitum flower when using this term, which is known for being extremely poisonous.
Thankfully, Arnica montana is totally safe on closed skin, and only moderately toxic when ingested, at most causing some irritation to mucous membranes, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach pain. This is why we always recommend your incision or wound be fully healed before you use Scar Esthetique. Then you have nothing to worry about.
Arnica montana’s Use In Herbal Medicine
For centuries, this flower has been used in herbal medicine; the plant can be dried and used as a powder to mix into balms that work as a moderate topical pain reliever. However, it also has other topical uses that we leverage for scar treatment here at Rejuvaskin.
What Is Arnica Montana Good For?
So, what is Arnica montana good for? As mentioned above, this flower is fairly effective at relieving pain topically, but that doesn’t necessarily impact scar healing; so, why do we include it in our scar cream? Let’s take a look at some Arnica montana extract benefits.
Reducing Bruising
While research is still ongoing, anecdotal evidence repeatedly suggests that the natural chemicals found in this flower can speed up the recovery of (or at least reduce the appearance of) bruising in the skin.
Reducing Inflammation
Another anecdotal benefit of Arnica montana is its ability to reduce inflammation in the skin and underlying structures. In this way, since it also can relieve pain topically, this flower acts much like a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication (NSAID). Reducing inflammation is incredibly beneficial for scar healing, too.
Arnica Montana For Skin Discoloration
These benefits are some of the most reasons we include the flower’s extract in our Scar Esthetique silicone scar cream. Scars, especially new ones, tend to be reddish and several shades lighter or darker than your natural skin tone. Combined with the analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties of Arnica montana, it just makes sense to include this flower’s extracts in a scar cream!