Why We’re Putting Fungi In Skincare
There’s a shroom boom happening. Truffle on your toastie, portobello’s in your burger…
Now you’re finding fungi in your skincare formulas! There’s a myriad of functional benefits to using this ingredient topically, especially when working with more powerful (potentially bitey) actives.
Broadly speaking, mushroom extracts have a soothing effect. They help to protect and counteract flare ups from more active ingredients. A godsend for sensitive skin types and skincare beginners.
Albatrellus Confluens, the mushroom extract found in De-Crease (our brand spanking new retinal eye serum!), is rich in grifolin derivatives which have been proven in in-vitro studies (so in a test tube, in a lab), to inhibit TRPV1 receptor activation. Stay with me. When the TRPV1 receptor is activated it causes an inflammatory response; one which may lead to irritation: redness, stinging, itching, burning. But! As I said, Albatrellus Confluens inhibits the TRPV1 receptor in-vitro so, in theory, this ingredient has the potential to reduce skin irritation.
Mushroom extract is just one of the MVPs working very harmoniously inside our eye serum. Its soothing and protecting qualities may help minimise retinal (a strong form of vitamin a) (the gold standard in anti-ageing) from aggravating the skin post-application. A quick nod at peptides for their power to lift sagging skin, and niacinamide for its skin strengthening properties, altogether this serum is clinically proven* to reduce the appearance of crow’s feet wrinkles, and improve hydration, firmness, and texture of the under eye area.
Back to the pizza-topper-turned-skincare-saviour. The mushroom extract Go-To source specifically for De-Crease is harvested from the boreal taiga forests in Finland. One of the world’s richest biomes. These mushrooms grow organically, in a symbiotic relationship (read: mutually beneficial relationship) with the trees. The mushrooms help maximise the health and strength of the trees, and in return, the trees provide nutrients that allow the mushrooms to grow and flourish.
Picked sustainably (by hand) thanks to experienced Finnish farmers, the harvesting of the mushrooms does not harm the population or overall ecosystem. The entire mushroom organism is present in the root-like structure so these fleshly guys very quickly reproduce on the forest floor.
Fungi fact! We use the fruiting body only of the albatrellus confluens. That’s the top-hat, toadstool-y part you think of first when picturing a wild mushroom. (Only they aren’t red with white spots. Sounds poisonous.)
All skin types will play well with mushroom derived ingredients. And we bet you’re about to see this ingredient on the back of a lot of beauty bottles.
*Based on a 12 week clinical trial with 30 participants.
