Heartleaf (Houttuynia Cordata)
An East Asian plant used at high percentages in K-beauty soothing serums and toners for the appearance of a calmer, less-reddened-looking complexion. It sits alongside centella as a popular cica-style botanical, and its heart-shaped leaf is where the common name comes from. Houttuynia has a long history of use in traditional East Asian herbal preparations, and the extract is now marketed heavily toward oily, blemish-prone and reactive-looking skin types.
Studied for
- ·The appearance of a calmer, less-reddened-looking complexion
- ·The look of hydrated, comfortable skin
- ·The appearance of a clearer-looking, less congested complexion
How it’s thought to work
Studied for antioxidant and soothing support for the look of the skin, with quercetin and other flavonoids in the extract most often credited. The cosmetic evidence is early and mostly at the extract level, and it is frequently formulated alongside centella or panthenol rather than used as a standalone hero active.
In lab testing on skin cells, heartleaf extract raised levels of filaggrin, a protein tied to a smoother, better hydrated skin barrier.
Antioxidant Houttuynia cordata extract upregulates filaggrin expression in an aryl hydrocarbon-dependent manner. Fukuoka Igaku Zasshi, 2014.
View on PubMed (PMID 25816564) ↗Questions
- Is heartleaf good for oily or blemish-prone skin?
- It is commonly marketed that way in Korean skincare, often in a light toner or essence format. The cosmetic evidence for a direct effect on blemishes is limited, so it is best thought of as a soothing layer that suits oily routines rather than a treatment for breakouts.
- Heartleaf or centella, which should I pick?
- Both are gentle soothing botanicals used the same way in a routine. Centella has more research behind it; heartleaf is a newer trend with thinner evidence, so picking between them often comes down to texture preference and which one a product is built around.