Licorice Gel for Eczema: What the Two-Week Trial Measured—and What Its Percentages Mean

A label that mentions licorice can sound reassuring when eczema keeps returning between work, school and exercise. The practical question is more specific: was this exact preparation tested, against what, and for how long? One older trial provides a short-term signal, but its percentages are easy to misread.

A defined gel, rather than licorice in every form

The 2003 clinical trial compared 1% and 2% licorice-extract gels with their base gel. The original study text reports 108 recruited and 90 evaluable participants, 30 per group, aged 16–53 across the groups. Treatment was applied three times daily for two weeks. Symptom severity used a 0–3 scale.

The authors reported greater improvement with 2% than 1% for redness, swelling and itching. Redness-score reductions were 60.76% and 35.02%, respectively; itching-score reductions were 72.53% and 44.1%. Scaling did not improve significantly. The reported advantages over base gel concerned selected symptom scores, not long-term disease control.

A lower score is not a percentage of people cured

A purchasing claim should not combine the most favorable symptom result with a broader promise about eczema. Redness, scaling, sleep and time between flares answer different questions. A trial can support investigating one of those questions while leaving the others unanswered. For the same reason, doubling an ingredient percentage in a different cream would not reproduce this comparison.

Oral licorice raises a different safety question

NCCIH describes topical eczema evidence as preliminary and says more research is needed. Topical licorice can irritate some people's skin. Its guidance also warns that consuming glycyrrhizin-containing licorice can cause serious problems, particularly with high blood pressure or heart or kidney conditions. A skin-gel experiment is not evidence to take licorice capsules or drink concentrated licorice preparations.

Keep route, amount and complete formulation separate during a medication review. Bring the actual label rather than asking only whether licorice is good for eczema. An ingredient shared with a studied product does not establish the same dose, delivery, benefit or safety. Our comparison of prescription barrier creams and an OTC ointment concerns different products and should not be merged with this gel trial.

Make a product decision that fits your care plan

Before adding a new step to a busy day, identify the problem you want it to solve: dryness, persistent inflammation, a possible contact reaction or a routine that is hard to follow. Those problems may need different responses. Ask what improvement to expect, when to review it and what to do if the rash changes. Do not replace a prescribed treatment because an older plant-extract trial sounds encouraging.

AAD skin-care guidance emphasizes fragrance-free products, careful introduction of new products and an individual treatment plan. Our new-product testing guide explains that process; our herbal-evidence guide explains why varied preparations cannot be treated as one intervention. Persistent or worsening eczema warrants assessment rather than an expanding list of experiments.

Compare the related evidence

For a contrasting botanical result, the witch-hazel trial shows why improvement with a cream does not necessarily identify an added ingredient benefit.

Prepared by the Dr. Arsy editorial team. Sources checked November 9, 2026. Educational information supports a conversation with a qualified clinician and does not diagnose or prescribe. The AI-created sports product image is an editorial illustration, not a patient photograph or clinical result.