Ingredient glossary
Histidine
On your shelf ✓What Histidine does for your skin, who it suits, and what to watch for.
INCI: Histidine · Also: L-Histidine
In short: Histidine delivers hydration and conditioning, suits most skin types, and the evidence behind it is limited.
- What it does
- Hydration, conditioning
- Best for
- Most skin types
- Evidence
- Limited
The molecule
The Glow take
Nice to have, and nothing to overthink.
Histidine plays a quiet supporting role, rounding out a formula rather than being the reason you buy it.
— Maya
What it does
- hydration
- conditioning
- pH buffer
weak evidenceThe filaggrin to histidine to urocanic acid pathway is real physiology, and skin levels of histidine correlate with hydration, but no study shows that applying histidine raises urocanic acid or helps the barrier. Old uncontrolled reports tried histidine creams on psoriasis: 5 percent irritated, 1 percent did little. Oral histidine has two promising eczema trials, which say nothing about creams. CIR judged the alpha amino acids safe as used, with tested products at up to 0.07 percent.
Who it's for, and who should skip it
Tends to suit
- dry
- dehydrated
- normal
Approach with care
No specific group flagged to avoid it.
- Clogs poresLow
- Irritation riskLow
How it fits each skin type
- DrySuits
- CombinationSuits
- OilySuits
- SensitiveSuits
Where it fits in your routine
Plays well with
- humectants
- hyaluronic acid
- glycerin
Histidine, answered
Is Histidine safe during pregnancy?
Yes. Histidine is considered safe to use during pregnancy and breastfeeding. As with anything, if you are unsure it is worth a quick word with your doctor or midwife.
Who should avoid Histidine?
No specific group is flagged to avoid Histidine. It is well tolerated by most skin. Still, introduce anything new one product at a time.
What concentration of Histidine actually works?
Its concentration is rarely printed on the label, so use the ingredient list as your clue: near the top third it is likely doing real work, near the bottom it is more of a sprinkle.
This, for every label you own
One ingredient is easy. A full label is where it gets confusing. The Ingredient Decoder reads any product and tells you the honest truth, ingredient by ingredient.
Sources & how we reviewed this
- PMID 24335967abstract only, the full text is paywalled
- DOI 10.1038/s41598-019-54454-xabstract only, the full text is paywalled