The Science Behind Dragon's Blood - What Does it Really Do?
You may remember a few years ago we brought you a post on the benefits of dragon's blood for skincare.
Since then, dragon's blood has only become more of a trending ingredient and has made news stories around the world.
In our original post we discussed the what, why, where and when of dragon's blood - including it's background as a traditional medication, the studies that have been conducted into it's benefits, and the results they found.
One thing we didn't touch on, partly due to the relatively sparse science at the time, was the how.
How does dragon's blood have such convincing skincare benefits? What compounds in the tree give the extract these qualities? And are there any more benefits to dragon's blood beyond skincare?
Luckily, there is a lot of new evidence since the last post - so let's jump right in!
Benefits of Dragon's Blood for Skincare
Dragon's blood, or sangre de drago, is the resin or sap from a prehistoric tree originating in Yemen known as croton lechleri. It has been highly valued for skincare and other benefits for centuries.
The native tribes of Peru and Ecuador especially considered it a powerful medicine, also using it to stem bleeding, seal wounds and aid in healing skincare conditions as varied as eczema, bites and stings, piles, and even a fever.
For years dragon's blood was disregarded by the West, likely assumed to be an ineffective traditional medicine with little scientific backing. However, in the last few years, convincing evidence has been uncovered for it being an important part of an effective skincare regime.
This is of course due to the unique blend of organic compounds that exist within the sap of the tree.
Here are the most understood of those ingredients and their individual effects as understood by modern medicine:
Dragon's Blood Skincare Ingredients
Proanthocyanidins
Proanthocyanidins have been found to protect and strengthen collagen fibres, which dramatically increases skin elasticity. This is important for anti-aging, healing, moisture retention and more. They have also been discovered to offer a range of health benefits including antioxidant and antimicrobial actions which help to keep pores clean and free of bacteria and reduce swelling and irritation.
Taspine
Taspine is known as a healing agent which can speed up the formation of scar tissue and enhance wound healing. It has been found to stimulate fibroblasts, the cells responsible for producing collagen, into moving to areas of skin damage and multiplying quickly, which leads to the accelerated healing effect. This makes it one of the best skincare ingredients for any skincare complaint related to physical damage to the skin, such as dry skin, irritation acne, etc.
Dragon's blood is extremely rich in taspine, something that is thought to be the driving force behind the resin's history as a popular healing medicine.
Polyphenols
Polyphenols are naturally occuring micronutrients. They occur in most plants, but with over 8,000 polyphenols catalogued to this date, the benefits offered by them vary a lot.
The polyphenols present in dragon's blood extract have been found to have powerful antioxidizing effects and can help remove free radicals and leave your skin healthy.
The combination of these 3 ingredients work together perfectly - accelerating healing after damage, forming a protective barrier, supporting collagen production and delivering nutrients to the skin's inner layers.
If you're looking to give your skin a little extra love, there are few things you can do better than a dragon's blood serum.
As a skincare-focused organization, it is perhaps unsurprising that we are singing to you about the skin-related benefits of dragon's blood. But the extract offers more benefits than just that.
Topical application of dragon's blood serum has been found to be effective for other complaints too, offering benefits such as
- Antimicrobial effects. While we already explored how dragon's blood can provide antimicrobial effects on the skin, removing bacteria from pores and preventing infection, this benefit spreads much further. So many studies have been positively carried out on this interaction that dragon's blood has been considered for use as a food preservative in the past. A 2011 study in Yemen found that it can even be used as a limited disinfectant. While dragon's blood isn't quite an antibiotic or anything like that, it can absolutely help fight bacteria and prevent the spread of pathogens.
- Can be used to treat ulcers. This point refers specifically to external ulcers with topical application of dragon's blood, and does not relate to internal ulcers, and so in could some ways be considered an extension of the skincare benefits. It was found in 2015 to help reduce ulcers and bedsores, especially in those suffering from paraesthesia.
- Reduces inflammation. Once again this is beneficial for skincare uses - with the almost all skincare issues being causes by inflammation in one way or another. However, the anti-inflammatory benefits of dragon's blood go far beyond just skincare, and can be used to treat ongoing skin conditions such as eczema, rashes and even chafing.
Dragon's Blood Serum
To leverage these benefits, we have combined pure, high quality dragons blood serum with other powerful skincare ingredients including aloe vera, green tea, vitamin B2, jojoba oil, AHAs and vitamin E. 100% made in the USA from the purest ingredients, the result is an effective skincare serum that will fight inflammation, help your skin to heal and replenish quicker, and leave you looking more youthful and radiant than ever.
To learn more, check out the dragon's blood serum information page.