The quiet ingredients in CROWN Plus

When people read the CROWN Plus box, the questions are always about the coolants and the herbs. Nobody asks about bisabolol. Nobody has ever emailed us about tocopherol. Fair enough, because those are not why you buy a maximum-cooling roller. But they are a big part of why you can keep using one.

The CROWN Plus ingredients that don't cool, and why they're there

The cold in CROWN Plus comes from the Triple Cool Complex: three speeds of cool layered together. Menthol brings the fast cold, menthyl lactate builds a steady cool, and two odorless coolants give a long, quiet finish. These five ingredients do the rest:

• Light MCT oil: the carrier that holds the cold on your skin.
• Bisabolol: from chamomile, helps the oil glide on smoothly.
• Roman chamomile oil: a soft, warm herbal note that rounds off the mint.
• Spearmint oil: turns a sharp blend into fresh mint.
• Tocopherol (vitamin E): keeps the oils fresh.

MCT oil: the carrier behind the long-lasting cold

The first ingredient on the box, meaning the one there is most of, is light MCT oil: the fractionated part of coconut or palm kernel oil. Everything else dissolves in it. It carries menthol, Bing Pian and the rest of the Triple Cool Complex cleanly; in one comparison it carried five times more ibuprofen than mineral oil.¹

It does not go rancid like olive or almond oil, and it stays liquid in a cold car. It is nearly odorless, light on skin, and was non-irritating and non-sensitizing in human patch testing.² Pharmaceutical formulators use the same oil to make menthol gels.³

Its job is to hold the cooling ingredients against the skin and release them over a longer window, so the cold lasts.⁴ Much of the long-lasting cold in CROWN Plus is the carrier, working quietly.

Why there is no water in CROWN Plus

CROWN Plus is water-free and alcohol-free. Water is what microbes need, which is why most lotions carry a preservative system. With no water in the bottle, CROWN Plus needs no preservatives at all. Both CROWN and CROWN Plus are paraben-free.

Without water or alcohol, CROWN Plus stays on the skin as an oil, which suits migraine attacks, when you want the cold to hold. For how that compares with CROWN’s lighter oil base, see CROWN vs CROWN Plus.

Bisabolol: the chamomile ingredient that helps it glide

Bisabolol comes from chamomile, and it is one of the most widely used skin-conditioning ingredients in cosmetics. In CROWN Plus it helps a strong, herb-rich oil glide on smoothly and feel soft on your temples. Independent cosmetic safety reviewers have assessed it as safe as used in cosmetics.⁵

Roman chamomile, and how it differs from German chamomile

Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile) is the last ingredient on the box, so there is the least of it. It is there for the nose. Its oil has a soft, warm herbal note that rounds off the sharp edge of menthol and eucalyptus.⁶ With it, the blend smells like mint and herbs, not perfume.

CROWN contains German chamomile, a different plant picked for a different job: it is part of CROWN's everyday formula, while Roman chamomile shapes the scent of CROWN Plus.

Roman chamomile is in the daisy family. If you react to ragweed, daisies or marigolds, patch test on your inner forearm first.

Spearmint: fresh mint, softer edges

Spearmint (Mentha spicata) is the mint in chewing gum. Unlike peppermint it has very little menthol, so its job is scent, not cold. Peppermint and eucalyptus together can read sharp, and a little spearmint softens the blend into fresh mint. For people who often cannot stand strong smells during an attack, getting the aroma right is a real design requirement.

Vitamin E (tocopherol): keeping the oils fresh

Plant oils change as they meet air and light. Tocopherol slows that down, so the bottle in month 20 is the same product you opened in month 1. It is a long-standing cosmetic ingredient, assessed as safe in cosmetics.⁷

Freshness matters for your skin too. Common scent molecules such as limonene and linalool are gentle when fresh and far more likely to trigger skin reactions once they have oxidized.⁸ The amber glass helps as well, so store it cool and out of the light. Tocopherol keeps the oils fresh.

Why a strong formula needs a soft landing

A maximum-cooling roller puts a lot of cold on a small area of thin skin, reapplied as needed, in someone whose nervous system is already having a bad time. Every design decision after "make it colder" has to answer to that.

The carrier decides how long the cold stays and how the skin feels afterward. No water decides whether you need preservatives. Bisabolol decides how a strong oil feels going on. Spearmint and Roman chamomile decide whether you can stand the smell at 3 a.m. Tocopherol decides whether the bottle you open in year two is the product you bought. None of these is why anyone buys CROWN Plus. All of them are why someone keeps using it.

Every ingredient here is printed on the box in order of concentration. CROWN Plus is vegan, cruelty-free and made in a GMPC certified facility. Made by Cerebral Torque, a migraine education platform.

FAQ

• CROWN vs CROWN Plus: which roller for which day
• CROWN Plus: the science behind maximum cooling
• The strongest migraine roll-on: a buyer's guide

CROWN and CROWN Plus are cosmetic cooling roll-ons, not medicines. Sensory descriptions come from our own use and customer feedback. Patch test first, keep away from eyes, do not use on broken skin, and do not use on children under 2. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. For external use only. If you are pregnant, nursing, or have a medical condition, talk to your healthcare provider before use. This article is for general information and is not medical advice.