If you are one to pay close attention to the beauty space, you might have come across a unique type of skin care product: cica creams, a type of moisturizer that contains a unique herb thought to calm skin and reduce redness. Stateside, it's dubbed "cica," but it also goes by centella asiatica, tiger grass, gotu kola, Indian -ennywort, or Ji Xue Cao. 

"It's a type of plant that is considered bitter, pungent, and cold in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) herbs. Its main focus is to 'cool' the body," says Debbie Kung, DAOM, LAc, who specializes in facial rejuvenation. "In TCM, any skin eruptions are also known as 'heat toxicity,' and this herb helps remedy it. It helps to clear heat, hence helping skin issues such as eczema and acne."

In its current skin care iteration, it's commonly formulated into creams, masks, or serums and comes by the way of K-Beauty retailers and formulators (it's not an herb specific only to K-Beauty—as we mentioned above, it's a TCM herb, too—however, the wave of K-Beauty products has certainly made it more widely known given how popular K-Beauty as a whole has become). 

These products are typically marketed to those who have redness-prone skin due to acne, inflammation, sensitivities, and so on. Studies have shown centella asiatica can help with a host of other skin benefits1, too: hydration, promote fibroblast proliferation (or, the things in our cells that create collagen and elastin), and aid in wound healing. So while the ingredient's main function is redness reduction, really anyone looking for a soothing cream could benefit from the active. 

It's no wonder it's had such a long history of use—here, our five favorite options.