Bilberry is a wild European relative of blueberry, and cosmetic extracts typically draw on its anthocyanin rich fruit or its leaf and seed material, which carry complementary polyphenols like chlorogenic acid.
Anthocyanins are potent free radical scavengers in direct laboratory testing, and in cell studies bilberry extracts have been shown to calm inflammatory gene expression and inhibit the immune cell activity behind allergic itching.
A thirty day human trial testing a cream with six percent bilberry leaf extract and six percent bilberry seed oil measured meaningfully increased skin hydration and reduced water loss compared to untreated skin, though that study used leaf and seed material rather than the fruit anthocyanins specifically, and was small in scale.
Bilberry Extract References
Old Plant, New Possibilities, Wild Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L) in Topical Skin Preparation, Antioxidants, 2021
Anthocyanins, but not anthocyanidins, from bilberry alleviate pruritus via inhibition of mast cell degranulation, Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 2012
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