Welcome to the ultimate guide on plant-based skincare ingredients ♡ In 2025, there are so many plants that can help you achieve your skincare goals, whether it be anti-aging, skin calming or hydration. There is no need to use animal ingredients such as animal collagen, keratin, squalane or snail mucin which are often farmed in unethical ways. Take a look below at each subheading to see what suits your skin- as well as which products to look out for!

Anti-Aging

Vitamin C is the holy grail of anti-aging, but too few people have Vitamin C as a part of their skincare routine. Vitamin C helps to boost collagen production in the skin, targeting the problem from inside out rather than simply applying collagen topically. 

For a plant-based vitamin c boost, try UpCircles Blood Orange & Custard Apple peptide serum, which uses recycled blood orange extract and custard apples which would have otherwise been thrown away. It’s been clinically proven to help boost skin’s collagen stores and minimise fine lines. 

Ginseng: an ingredient used in Korea for centuries. Ginseng is a root, known for its antioxidant properties. Not only is it edible, but also works perfectly as a skincare ingredient to help prevent skin stress and aging.

If you want to see a genuine difference in your skin’s elasticity and improve its circulation, try Beauty of Joseon’s Ginseng Essence Water. Non-sticky, it’s the perfect addition to your skincare routine as either a light-weight toner, or you can layer it and use it as a serum. 

Hydration

Hyaluronic Acid- i’m sure many people have hard of this ingredient when talking about hydration, and just skincare in general. However, a lot of people don’t know that a lot of brands still use hyaluronic acid that comes from animal sources, such as rooster combs and animal eyeballs. These days- it’s possible to replicate hyaluronic acid by fermenting sugars found in plants such as wheat. Hyaluronic acid not only helps to boost your skin’s moisture levels, but also helps your skin absorb other beneficial skincare ingredients.

Try Arencia’s Holy Hyssop Serum for a mixture of Hyaluronic Acid and Hyssop extract to hydrate and calm your skin at the same time.

Inflammation/Skin Calming & Acne-Prone

Whether your skin is acne-prone or not, it’s always a good idea to include ingredients in your skincare routine that help to calm down your skin after a long day of everchanging weather, touching and pollution. Here are some plant-based ingredients targeting redness and inflammation:

Centella: this plant has many names, cica, centella asiatica or more colloquially- tiger’s grass. Not only does this plant help to calm and soothe the skin, it actually repairs the skin’s barrier instead of just being a calming agent. 

For some much needed TLC, try SKIN1004s Centella Watergel Ampoule Sheet Mask, and watch your redness disappear and skin glow. 

Azulene: extracted from chamomile flowers, gives skincare an anti-oxidant rich hue and helps to prevent redness and truly soothe the skin. Turns out, chamomile doesn’t just help you sleep but your skin too.

To try azulene, try the Midnight Blue Calming Cream by Dear, Klairs. Guaranteed to be a perfect addition to your night-time skincare routine.

Brightening & Dark Spot Care

Rice: rice is another natural ingredient that can help you achieve your skincare goals. Rice is a general exfoliant and brightener, helping you tone up your skin and lighten dark spots and acne scars over time. 

Arencia’s Rice Mochi cleansers all use a fermented rice mochi base, paired with ingredients such as rosehip, green tea and hyssop for a variety of skincare concerns. Check out a range of them on our website and see which is the best for you! 

Muihood’s Tao Rice Water Essence is the perfect hydrating, brightening and anti-aging asset to your skincare routine. Non-sticky, your skin will drink it up and thank you for it!

Coffee: perhaps you like to drink it, but how about putting it on your skin? Now, we don’t recommend splashing pure coffee on your skin, but coffee extract in serum or oil form can do wonders for dark spots, as well dark circles under the eye. 

UpCircle’s facial oil is rich in coffee extract and rosehip oil- giving you a two-in-one hydration and dark spot treatment during your daily guasha routine. Their coffee eye cream is also guaranteed to give your delicate undereye area a more toned and plump appearance.