Iceland moss
Cetraria Islandica Extract
A lichen of the far north, used for centuries to calm. The research is on its immune chemistry.
Iceland moss is not a moss at all but a lichen — a partnership of fungus and alga that grows on cold, open ground across Iceland, Scandinavia and the mountains of Europe. It has been gathered as a soothing remedy for as long as people have lived there.
Its main constituent is lichenan, a polysaccharide, and this is where the modern science sits: in the laboratory, extracts of Iceland moss shift immune signalling towards the calming end, and separate work has shown activity against a range of microbes in the dish.
In a blemish wash it is there to soften the wash's character — a clarifying formula that does not feel harsh. Cosmetic benefits only; the study below is not on skin.
The study
Laboratory studyA traditionally prepared Iceland moss extract steered human immune cells towards the anti-inflammatory signal IL-10, and reduced induced inflammation in an animal model. Not a skin study.
Freysdottir J, Omarsdottir S, Ingólfsdóttir K, Vikingsson A, Olafsdottir ES. In vitro and in vivo immunomodulating effects of traditionally prepared extract and purified compounds from Cetraria islandica. International Immunopharmacology, 2008;8(3):423–430. PubMed 18279796
Research on the ingredient, not a test of any FOUNDER product. Cosmetic benefits only, and skin varies. These are cosmetics, not medicine.
