Mushrooms are back in the spotlight with a focus on their anti-aging benefits. Not belonging to either the plant or the animal kingdom, mushrooms are classified as a fungi, with over 150,000 different varieties. The shiitake mushroom alone has several uses, ranging from an exfoliant to an anti-inflammatory and is often sought after for it’s high levels of kojic acid, which is used as a skin brightener.
You may see mushroom extracts, capsules, and oils. But mushrooms are also used for topical applications as they can contain beta-glucans, which offer their own anti-aging skin care benefits. Mushrooms also have high amounts of selenium, another well know aging combatant.
News Drill Down
- According to an article from Happi (Household and Personal Products Industry), many varieties of mushrooms contain kojic acid, an ingredient that aids in skin-lightening and can replace hydroquinone and other “dangerous, and often toxic, chemical skin-lighteners.”
- A new gel exfoliator uses “a self-regulating ‘smart’ peptide derived from the precious Mucor miehei mushroom” to clear away dead skin cells, says a Cosmetics and Toiletries article.
- Reishi mushrooms have been used in anti-aging skincare products since the 1980s, starting with Japanese brand Menard, expains a Cosmetics and Toilietries article. In the early 2000s, mushrooms hit the Western market for skincare applications.
Happi: Understanding Anti-Aging Benefits of Mushrooms
Cosmetic and Toiletries: Mushrooms in Personal Care
Material Resources:
Applechem, Inc:
Anti Aging Moisturizing Cream With Silver Ear Mushroom Extract, 95% Natural Ingredients (Formulation #SC-F0010)
Bio-Botanica, Inc:
Shiitake Mushroom Extract
Reishi Mushroom Extract
Evonik Industries:
Sipernat® (product line) (EU)
Lonza:
NAB™ Mushroom Extract PF (EU)
Greentech USA:
Biomoduline (EU)
BioSpectrum, Inc:
VageStop™(EU)
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