Explore our hero ingredients

Whether you’re starting up a new morning walking routine or training for a big event, you deserve to feel your best — without soreness, discomfort, tension, or pain getting in your way. By adding natural, effective, safe ingredients to your feel-good toolbox, you can get moving… and stay moving. 

At Flexpower, our goal is to help people across different ages, interests, and activity levels feel good every single day — and that starts with our carefully selected ingredients. In each and every one of our products, you’ll find locally, sustainably sourced herbs, minerals, and other natural compounds. We call these our hero ingredients:  the star players that scientists believe to have several notable benefits, including improved skin health, mind and body relaxation, and joint and muscle pain relief. 

Why did we choose these hero ingredients? Keep reading to dig into some of the research-backed benefits of our go-to non-toxic ingredients, and how they can help you feel good day in and day out. 

Glucosamine

This naturally occurring compound, found in our connective tissues (including the cartilage that cushions our joints) has been shown to reduce joint stiffness in people with osteoarthritis. While it’s often used as an oral supplement — either made in a lab (like the kind we use) or harvested from the shells of shellfish — you can also apply glucosamine on your skin. 

There’s more robust research on the effects of taking glucosamine in capsule or tablet form, but studies examining topical application suggest regular use of this ingredient may also decrease joint pain, reduce the limitation of joint movement, and improve muscle function for people experiencing chronic pain. That’s great news considering tender joints may make you hesitate to get a workout in but moving your body can actually help relieve that pain. 

Research suggests glucosamine can:

• Reduce joint stiffness

• Decrease joint pain

• Reduce the limitation of joint movement

• Improve muscle function

Try it: Glucosamine offers deep heat relief in our Warm Lotion.

Arnica 

Humans have turned to this perennial flowering plant, native to the mountains of Siberia and Central Europe, for medicinal purposes since the 16th century. Also known as Leopard’s bane, arnica can be taken as a pill or tincture or applied to the skin as an ointment, cream, or gel.

Several review studies point to arnica as an effective pain management tool and safe, natural, plant-based alternative to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) drugs. Whether you experience acute pain (the kind typically caused by surgery, illness, trauma, or injury) or chronic pain, researchers suggest arnica can effectively reduce pain in a similar way to medications like ibuprofen, possibly as a result of its anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antioxidant activities. 

One small study found it may help reduce swelling and bruising, while several other larger review studies highlight arnica’s ability to reduce pain and inflammation for people with osteoarthritis or low back pain, as well as people who undergo certain surgical procedures or sustain certain injuries, including sprains. 

Research suggests arnica can:

• Reduce pain

• Reduce swelling

• Reduce bruising

• Reduce inflammation

Try it: You can find arnica in all of our products, including our Soothe Lotion,  Cool Bath Salts, and Soothe Bath Salts. 

Echinacea

As one of the most popular herbs in America, the flowering Echinacea plant has been used by Native Americans from the Great Plains region for hundreds of years for medicinal purposes, including to treat infections and wounds. It gets its name from the Greek word echinos — which translates to hedgehog — because the pretty pink flowers feature a prickly, cone-shaped center.  

You may have heard of echinacea as an immune system booster that can help reduce the symptoms of the common cold and other respiratory tract infections. But, research suggests its therapeutic effects extend well beyond alleviating a sniffly, runny nose. In fact, this immune-supporting plant can be applied topically to reduce skin dryness, redness, and itchiness brought on by certain skin conditions, including eczema and psoriasis. 

And just like some of the other ingredients on this list, research suggests echinacea may help relieve inflammatory pain, such as the pain associated with arthritis and burns. Other studies show it may help restore the skin’s lipid barrier — the outermost layer of skin cells that helps keep moisture in and environmental toxins out, leaving your skin feeling healthier and more hydrated.

Research suggests echinacea can:

• Support the immune system

• Reduce skin dryness, redness, and itchiness

• Relieve inflammatory pain

• Improve skin barrier function

Try it: You can find echinacea in our Soothe Lotion.

Epsom and Sea Salts

These self-care staples have long been touted as helpful and cost-effective tools to relieve muscle fatigue, discomfort, and pain — just by tossing some into a warm bath.

Research on the use of Epsom salt, also known as magnesium sulfate, dates back to the 17th century. This essential mineral — which coincidentally contains no salt at all — was first discovered in an underground well in an English town called Epsom. The story goes that the farmer who discovered the well noticed there was something different about the water in it when his cows refused to drink. He took a taste and noticed a strange bitterness, which we now know can be attributed to the well water’s high magnesium content. The farmer and others began to investigate the medicinal properties of the mineral water, including its ability to help heal scratches and rashes. 

Today, people use salt baths as a way to wind down after a long day and after workouts to ease sore muscles. In fact, research shows Epsom salt baths can relax muscles, especially in the neck, shoulders, and back — areas where we tend to hold a lot of stress- and anxiety-related tension. Additional research found magnesium-containing sea salts from the Dead sea can improve skin barrier function. Other studies on the health effects of sea salt suggest it may be beneficial for certain skin conditions, including psoriasis, by alleviating symptoms like itchiness and flakiness. 

Research suggests Epsom and sea salts can:

• Relax muscles

• Improve skin barrier function

• Reduce skin itchiness and flakiness

Try it: All of our salts, including Soothe Bath Salts, Cool Bath Salts, and our beautifully scented Flexpower x Anne Sisteron Bath Salts, use a combination of Epsom and sea salts. 

Turmeric

While you may think of this bright yellow spice as a pantry staple or star of the golden latte, you can also find it outside of grocery stores and restaurants. There’s a wide breadth of research devoted to the many health benefits of this root, or rhizome, that’s a member of the ginger family. Just like in the case of arnica, studies suggest curcumin (an antioxidant compound found in turmeric) may have similar pain-relieving effects to NSAIDs. In one small study, when participants with knee osteoarthritis took a twice-daily dose of curcumin extract, they reduced the amount of pain-relieving medication they took by more than a third. 

Turmeric can help alleviate discomfort in the muscles and joints, with studies touting its ability to reduce joint pain in people with osteoarthritis and decrease exercise-induced muscle soreness in participants who started a brand new exercise routine. On top of that, researchers believe ingesting turmeric may reduce recovery time after a tough workout. When used topically, turmeric has been found to significantly reduce knee pain and stiffness. 

Research suggests turmeric can:

• Reduce muscle and joint pain (in a similar way to NSAID medications)

• Reduce joint stiffness

• Reduce recovery time after a tough workout

Try it: You can find turmeric in our Soothe Lotion.

Feel Good Doing Whatever You Love Doing

A combination of these well-researched ingredients can help you prioritize self-care and prevent and manage pain. And considering 50.2 million adults — roughly 20 percent of the U.S. adult population — say they experience pain on most days or every day, finding effective pain-relief solutions really matters. We believe that when you feel good inside and out, you’ll be more empowered to live a healthy, active life — however and whenever you choose to move your body.