Cosmetic ingredient

SPIRULINA PLATENSIS POWDER

SPIRULINA PLATENSIS POWDER is the powder made from dried, ground biomass of Spirulina platensis, an aquatic organism commonly called spirulina. It remains a biomass powder rather than a single isolated molecule. Its appearance and contribution to a formula can therefore also depend on the amount used and on the rest of the product.

INCISP1 products
CAS number
223751-80-2

SPIRULINA PLATENSIS POWDER: what it is

SPIRULINA PLATENSIS POWDER is the powder made from dried, ground biomass of Spirulina platensis, an aquatic organism commonly called spirulina. It remains a biomass powder rather than a single isolated molecule. Its appearance and contribution to a formula can therefore also depend on the amount used and on the rest of the product.

The name Spirulina platensis is still widely used on labels and in scientific writing, although current taxonomy also uses Limnospira platensis. That naming difference does not mean it is a different ingredient. The powder should also be distinguished from an aqueous spirulina extract or from phycocyanin, which are materials obtained or selected differently from the same biomass.

SPIRULINA PLATENSIS POWDER: what it does in cosmetics

In cosmetics, SPIRULINA PLATENSIS POWDER may be included as a UV absorber and skin-protecting ingredient. In practical terms, this relates to how the material can interact with ultraviolet light within a formula; its presence alone does not make every cream or mask a sunscreen, nor does it establish a sun protection factor.

Recent studies have investigated aqueous spirulina extracts and phycocyanin complexes in cell models, reporting antioxidant or inflammatory-response findings. Those materials are not the same as dried, ground powder, and they are not a finished cosmetic tested on skin. The findings therefore do not support claims that the powder alone lightens skin, treats a condition, or provides proven sun protection.

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