What are plant stem cells in skincare?

The term is used for extracts from plant cells grown in a laboratory, but also for extracts from the plant itself. The extract in our day cream comes from the leaves and stems of Epilobium fleischeri.

Does the cream contain live stem cells?

No. A plant extract contains substances from the plant, not live cells, and it does not turn into new skin cells.

Is alpine willowherb the same as Epilobium fleischeri?

Yes, it is the same plant. The Danish name pilurt is translated from the English willowherb, but the genus is called dueurt in Danish. Epilobium fleischeri is a low-growing willowherb from the Alps.

What are worn-out cells in the skin?

Researchers call them senescent cells. These are cells that have permanently stopped dividing and changed function. They accumulate in the skin with age and can affect the cells around them.

What does senolytic mean?

A senolytic substance causes worn-out cells to die. The supplier uses the word to describe the extract based on laboratory tests with skin cells and pieces of skin. It has not been measured whether this happens in the skin when you use the cream.

Is the extract vegan?

Yes, the extract comes from a plant, and Firming Cream SPF 50 is vegan.

Can the extract be used on sensitive skin?

Firming Cream SPF 50 is dermatologically tested and is also available fragrance-free. Try a new product on a small area first if your skin reacts easily.

Plant-based stem cell extracts (Alpine willowherb extract)

INCI: Epilobium Fleischeri Leaf/Stem Extract

Alpine plant extract that produced firmer skin in the supplier's test

Written by ECOOKING Research (R&D) · Updated 23.10.2026

At a glance

Suits: Especially mature skin
Helps with: Lack of firmness, Fine lines
Pairs well with: HPR Retinoid, Green algae extract
Found in: 1 ECOOKING product

What can plant-based stem cell extracts help with?

Lack of firmness

According to the ingredient supplier's own double-blind study of 50 women, a cream with 3 % extract gave 18–19 % better measurements of firmness and elasticity after two months than the same cream without it. The study is not peer-reviewed.^[2]

Fine lines

The supplier states that wrinkles around the eyes became less deep in the same study, but provides no figures.^[2]

How it works

Epilobium fleischeri is a low-growing willowherb that grows high in the Alps on gravel and stones near glaciers. On the ingredient list, it appears as Epilobium Fleischeri Leaf/Stem Extract – an extract of the plant’s leaves and stems. Here, the name plant stem cells refers to a plant extract: it contains substances from the plant, not living stem cells.

As we age, worn-out cells accumulate in the skin. Researchers call them senescent cells: they have permanently stopped dividing and their function has changed. In the case of connective tissue cells in the skin, known as fibroblasts, these worn-out cells can produce less collagen and release substances that affect the healthy cells around them.^[1] The ingredient supplier DSM-Firmenich markets the extract as a senolytic substance, meaning a substance that causes worn-out cells to die. The supplier standardises the extract based on its flavonoid content and has also tested the flavonoid myricitrin separately.^[2] Willowherbs are generally rich in flavonoids and other polyphenols.^[3]

In the supplier’s own laboratory tests, the proportion of worn-out skin cells fell by 52 %, and no signs of damage to healthy cells were observed under the test conditions. The supplier measured 94 % more type I collagen in skin cells and 44 % more in skin samples from a 60-year-old woman.^[2] The results come from cell cultures and excised skin samples and do not show what happens in the skin when you use the cream.

How to use it

You can find the extract in Firming Cream SPF 50 and in sets containing it.
Use the cream in the morning as the final step after cleansing and serum.
Apply it to the face, neck and chest.
The extract is included in the cream alongside HPR and green algae extract.

Products with plant-based stem cell extracts

Firming Cream SPF 50
Day cream with SPF 50 that gives visibly firmer skin in four weeks and protec...
Fragrance-freeFragrance50 ml

4,5 4,5 out of 5 stars (52)
€61,95

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See the product with plant-based stem cell extracts

Frequently asked questions

Sources

The evidence is weak because the main study comes from the ingredient supplier itself and is not peer-reviewed. According to the supplier, 50 women aged 45–60 used either a cream with 3 % extract or the same cream without it twice daily in a double-blind study. After two months, the supplier reports 18–19 % better results for skin elasticity and firmness with the extract than without it, measured using a device that gently suctions the skin. The supplier also states that wrinkles around the eyes were less deep, but provides no figures.^[2] The study is described only in a trade journal article written by the supplier's employees, so we cannot fully assess the method.

The peer-reviewed human study we found concerns oily skin: 23 women used a gel with 3 % of a related extract from the same supplier, made from flowers, leaves and stems, or the same gel without it for four weeks. With the extract, the number of open and closed comedones fell by 47 %. The study was small and single-blind, and the groups were not compared directly.^[4]