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• Adaptogens: From folk medicine to formulation bench
• What makes adaptogens different from theactives formulators already know
• The formulation challenge nobody talks about enough
• The sourcing story and why it affects potency, not just ethics
• Where the adaptogen story goes next
• Find adaptogenic ingredients on Covalo

🎧 This article is adapted from the Beauty Beat Pod – a podcast by Covalo.
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Adaptogens: From folk medicine to formulation bench

The term "adaptogen" was coined in 1950 by Russian toxicologist Nikolai Lazarev to describe substances that increase the body's resistance to stress while maintaining physiological balance — not by pushing systems to extremes, but by supporting equilibrium. Ewelina Aiossa, who grew up in Eastern Europe where these botanicals were part of everyday wellness traditions, sees a direct line from that history to modern skincare. 

"Instead of just calming redness for a moment, we are asking: can we actually enhance the skin's own stress response machinery? The barrier, antioxidant systems, repair pathways — topically — the way oral adaptogens modulate systemic resilience," she explains. Today's skin is under constant pressure from UV, pollution, blue light, and post-procedure sensitivity. Adaptogens offer a different kind of answer to that. 

What makes adaptogens different from the actives formulators already know

Retinol and vitamin C are powerful, targeted, and well-loved, but they come with certain trade-offs. A narrow therapeutic window, irritation risk, and formulation constraints that not every lab or contract manufacturer will take on. Adaptogens work differently. "They are more about modulation than force," Ewelina says. "They tend to act across multiple pathways, they're gentler, and I think they have a cumulative effect. And if they support the skin barrier, retinol can actually perform better, so they almost go hand in hand." 

In practice, Ewelina combines classical dermaceutical actives like niacinamide and peptides with adaptogenic botanicals and mushrooms across Topical Skin's formulas. Rather than compromising, it's a deliberate performance strategy. The four core mechanisms she points to: broad-spectrum antioxidant defense, anti-inflammatory modulation, barrier support, and stress signaling modulation. Often overlapping; always cumulative. 

The formulation challenge nobody talks about enough

Consumer demand is one thing, but actually formulating with adaptogens is another. These are complex phytochemical systems, and standardisation is where many go wrong. "Not all green tea extracts are created equal," Ewelina says. "You can take a tea bag, dip it in a cup of water, and that's technically a tea extract. You can dip it in a barrel of water, and it's still a tea extract. When I formulate, I'm not looking for the ingredient as a source. I'm looking at what cargo the ingredient brings for the skin." 

That means going beyond the INCI name to understand polyphenol content, specific marker compounds, and the extraction method used, whether subcritical water, CO2, or multi-phase solvents. Compatibility studies, pH sensitivity, and packaging all follow. Opaque formats matter: photosensitive compounds degrade under light and heat, and color drift is a real risk in transparent packaging. 

The sourcing story and why it affects potency, not just ethics

Many of the most popular adaptogens grow in remote, ecologically rich environments and are already under supply pressure. Rhodiola rosea, for example, grows slowly at high altitude and is facing over-harvesting stress in parts of Russia and Scandinavia. "This is why regenerative cultivation — farming these plats with soil and ecosystem restoration in mind — is so important", I noted during our conversation. "It's not just about doing less harm. It's about actively restoring what we take from." 

For Ewelina, a trustworthy supply chain starts with full traceability: species, geographic origin, harvesting method, extraction method, and quality specs. But there's also a quality argument that goes beyond ethics. "A plant grown in a biodiverse, stress-balanced environment is synthesizing its own adaptogen toolkit. That biochemical richness is exactly what we're extracting," she explains. "When we source chaga or bladderwrack from carefully managed ecosystems and use gentle extraction methods, we're not just ticking an ethical box, but we're likely enhancing the potency and complexity of the extract." Her own bladderwrack, for instance, is manually harvested from certified organic sources with explicit attention to marine ecosystem health, not just yield.

For brands navigating this space, third-party certifications like Ecocert, Fair for Life, and Rainforest Alliance offer a starting point. But Ewelina is candid that for many wild adaptogens, long-term supplier partnerships and detailed documentation remain the most reliable tool available: "I encourage brands to prioritize suppliers who provide sustainability reports and third-party verification. It's something you don't know to ask about; it's something you learn along the way."

Where the adaptogen story goes next

Ewelina sees the category moving from generic label claims toward something more precise: standardized extracts with defined marker compounds, specific clinical endpoints, and clear indications. She also anticipates more crossover between adaptogens, neurocosmetics, and psychodermatology — products that acknowledge the skin not just as a barrier organ, but as a sensory and endocrine organ. Her phytoantioxidant facial oil already moves in this direction, using frankincense and holy basil to support mood perception alongside dermal benefits.

On the risk of "adaptogen washing", she's direct: "Any buzzword that resonates with consumers eventually gets slapped on products that don't meet the scientific criteria. To maintain credibility, we need standardized extracts, references to published studies, and to stop calling every botanical an adaptogen." 

Her vision for the future: "A dermatologist, a formulator, a cosmetic chemist, a mycologist, a marine biologist, and a farmer sitting at the same table, all feeling good about the same product."

Find adaptogenic ingredients on Covalo

If you're a formulator or brand evaluating adaptogenic ingredients for your next project, Covalo lets you filter by application, certification, and origin, so you can find traceable, sustainably sourced options without starting from scratch.

👉 Explore adaptogenic ingredients on Covalo here 👈

This article is based on Episode 27 of The Beauty Beat Pod. Listen to the full conversation with Ewelina Aiossa on Spotify here.