Does chlorella help with acne or eczema? What the research does and doesn't show

The evidence doesn't support chlorella, taken orally or applied to skin, as a treatment for acne, eczema or any other skin condition — no human trial has tested it for either. What exists is a lab-dish study on the acne bacterium and a mouse study on dermatitis-like symptoms, neither done in a person.

What the evidence doesn't support

It doesn't support chlorella capsules, powder or a topical chlorella product as a treatment for acne, eczema, psoriasis, rosacea or any other diagnosed skin condition — no trial has tested chlorella on human skin for any of them. It doesn't support a claim that chlorella "clears" skin or calms inflammation in a person; the two studies that exist were done in a lab dish and in mice. And a documented chlorella risk runs the other way: rare allergic and photosensitivity reactions are among its reported side effects, covered in chlorella side effects.

What the trials found

A 2015 laboratory study tested lipid extracts from six Chlorella species, including Chlorella vulgaris, against Cutibacterium (Propionibacterium) acnes, the bacterium linked to acne, in a dish. The Chlorella vulgaris extract inhibited the bacterium's lipase enzyme by about 60%, with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 10 µg/mL, and also reduced reactive oxygen species and the inflammatory signal TNF-alpha in human blood cells exposed to the bacterium in vitro. That's an isolated extract acting on bacteria and cells in a dish — not a chlorella supplement tested on anyone's skin.

A separate study induced dermatitis-like skin symptoms in mice using house dust mite extract, then gave the mice an oral Chlorella vulgaris extract. The extract reduced the dermatitis-like symptoms in that mouse model. Mice are not people, and no human trial has followed up on this finding for eczema or atopic dermatitis.

Questions people ask

Does chlorella help acne?

Not by any evidence tested in people. The only research is a 2015 lab-dish study finding a chlorella extract inhibited an enzyme used by the acne-related bacterium C. acnes — a finding about bacteria and cells in a dish, not a trial of chlorella on anyone's skin.

Does chlorella help eczema?

Not in humans. A mouse study found an oral chlorella extract reduced dermatitis-like symptoms in mice with induced skin symptoms; that hasn't been tested in a human trial for eczema or atopic dermatitis.

Can chlorella cause acne or a skin reaction?

There's no research linking chlorella to causing acne. Chlorella's documented skin-related risk runs the other way: allergic reactions and photosensitivity (unusual sun sensitivity) are among its reported, if uncommon, side effects — see chlorella side effects for what's documented.

When to talk to a doctor

Chlorella is not a treatment for acne, eczema or any other skin condition — nothing here has been tested in a person. If you have a diagnosed skin condition, a persistent rash, or notice unusual sun sensitivity or a reaction after starting chlorella, talk to a doctor or dermatologist. See chlorella and medications before combining it with a prescription treatment.