Mushrooms in your skin care? You may enjoy them on your steak or the occasional Portabello burger, but on your face?
It’s a fairly new idea in the beauty industry, but one that we’ve known about for years.
All CV Skinlabs products contain Reishi mushroom as part of our exclusive Tri-Rescue Complex. We included it for many reasons, including those we’ll get into in this post.
If you aren’t using skincare with mushrooms, you’re missing out!
7 Reasons Why You Want Mushrooms in Your Skin Care
Mushrooms are indeed having their moment in skincare right now, but we’ve known for over a decade about their powerful properties when it comes to anti-aging, antioxidant protection, and more.
1. Mushrooms In Your Skincare Provide Antioxidant Protection
Like berries and kale, mushrooms are powerhouses when it comes to providing antioxidant protection for your skin.
In a 2017 study, researchers reported that they found high amounts of two important antioxidants—ergothioneine and glutathione—in mushrooms.
“What we found is that, without a doubt, mushrooms are the highest dietary source of these two antioxidants taken together, and that some types are really packed with both of them,” said study author Robert Beelman.
Antioxidants help neutralize damaging free radicals in the skin, reducing the risk of DNA damage and helping to promote anti-aging effects. Your skin is exposed to free radicals every day from exposure to the sun and pollution, as well as from internal factors. Regularly applying mushrooms to your skin improves its ability to handle these harmful invaders.
Other studies have found that mushrooms can inspire the production of superoxidase dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), two antioxidants known for protecting skin from oxidative damage and reversing connective tissue damage.
2. Mushrooms In Your Skincare Help Reduce Inflammation
You know that inflammation is at the source of just about every skin care problem we have. It promotes the development of acne, redness, irritation, fine lines and wrinkles, and aging.
Mushrooms have natural anti-inflammatory properties that help to tame inflammation so your skin can look its best.
In a 2014 study, researchers reported that mushrooms include anti-inflammatory effects that come from a highly diversified group of compounds. These include polysaccharides, terpenoids, phenolic compounds, and more.
These compounds have been shown to help decrease the activity of inflammatory cells in the body, such as cytokines and prostaglandins, reducing cell inflammation and helping to calm the skin while reducing redness and irritation.
3. Mushrooms May Help You Deal with Difficult Skin Conditions
Because of their anti-inflammatory and other beneficial properties, mushrooms may help you relieve some difficult skin conditions like eczema and dermatitis.
In a 2016 study, for instance, researchers found that Reishi mushroom (Ganoderma lucidum) had strong anti-inflammatory properties, and showed promise in the treatment of skin disease.
They went on to report on the case of a 44-year-old man who used soap enriched with Reishi mushroom. He used it to treat his annular cutaneous sarcoidosis, a disease that causes smooth bumps or growths on the skin. After three days, the man experienced complete regression of the lesions.
4. Mushrooms In Your Skin Care Can Help Delay the Appearance of Aging
We all want to look younger, and it looks like mushrooms in skin care can help us do that.
In a 2017 study, researchers examined the anti-aging potential of Reishi mushrooms. They found that Reishi mushroom extracts “have definite anti-aging properties.” They were able to not only protect the skin from oxidation and free radical damage but to help tame inflammation and protect nerves.
In another study, researchers found that veratric acid—found in some mushrooms—helped increase collagen, protect against UV radiation, and reduce skin cell damage. Treatment with a cream containing VA improved facial wrinkles in a clinical trial.
5. Mushrooms Can Help Fade Hyperpigmentation
Did you know that kojic acid, which is often used as a skin-lightening ingredient, is found in shiitake mushrooms?
It’s true that some mushrooms contain compounds that may help to lighten dark spots and even out skin tone. Researchers reported in 2016, for instance, that a Reishi mushroom extract helped inhibit tyrosinase activity. Tyrosinase encourages the production of melanin—the pigment that makes skin darker.
The Reishi mushroom extract also inhibited melanin biosynthesis as well as other factors related to skin darkening, showing its promise in lightening skincare products.
In an earlier study, researchers found that winter mushroom Flammulina velutipes extract also inhibited the production of melanin and tyrosinase, suggesting that it may also be effective in skin-lightening cosmetics.
6. Mushrooms In Your Skin Care May Help Protect Against Skin Cancer
Any ingredient that has antioxidant activity will help fight the type of free radical damage that can lead to skin cancer. Mushrooms, however, have other ingredients too that may help protect the skin from cancerous changes.
According to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Reishi mushroom contains complex sugars known as beta-glucans. Lab studies suggest these compounds can stop the growth of cancer cells and strengthen the immune system response.
In an interesting 2018 study, researchers found that polysaccharides from Reishi mushroom helped stimulate anticancer activity in human prostate cancer cells. Other studies have shown that it enhances the immune system’s ability to shut down cancer growth.
And in an earlier 2015 study, they reported that five different mushrooms, including Reishi and cordyceps, interacted with chemotherapy agents to help improve their ability to kill cancer cells.
7. Mushrooms Can Help Moisturize Your Skin
We’re all looking for that perfect moisturizer—the one that helps plump skin from the inside out, and helps it stay soft and smooth all day.
If that sounds good to you, make sure you take advantage of the healing power of mushrooms! Studies have revealed that cosmetics that include polysaccharides from mushrooms have better moisture-retention abilities than those with hyaluronic acid—and as you probably know, hyaluronic acid is the star when it comes to moisture retention.
So effective are mushrooms at helping your skin stay hydrated that some beauty experts are now recommending that you use them to make your own DIY mushroom face masks!
Fortunately, if you’re a CV Skinlabs customer, you won’t have to do that.
Why We Put Mushrooms In Your Skin Care
As you can see, mushrooms are star ingredients when it comes to skincare. That’s why we added Reishi mushroom to all of our products. We didn’t just toss in a little to have it on the ingredient list either. We included it as one of or three powerhouse ingredients in our Tri-Rescue Complex, so you can rest assured that your skin will enjoy the benefits.
Go ahead and check out our products. All four of them contain this exclusive complex. That means that if you regularly use any of them for any length of time, you’ll notice the moisturizing, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-aging effects.
Not to brag, but hey, we were ahead of this beauty trend from the start!
Do you look for mushrooms in your skin care?
