Mushrooms get a bad rap, don’t you think?

Mushrooms have a lot of storied imagery that make them sort of, let’s say…culturally ambiguous. For instance, mushroom is one of those toppings for pizza that can be hard to agree on. And if a movie wants to show that a certain part of the woods is dark and kind of spooky, there will be a shot of a wild growing mushroom right there for you to see. 

But all that aside, mushrooms are also, well, a delicacy.

They are a great replacement for meat that many people use everyday. And once you’ve gotten the taste for them on your pizza, it’s hard to say no to them after that. 

And so to that spooky forest? Well the forest is actually beautiful, and so is the mushroom! Have you ever taken some time to really look at a mushroom, to not just register its presence, but to see it? Mushrooms are unlike any other kind of plant life, strange and wonderful and beautiful all at the same time.

So mushrooms aren’t all bad! This goes for skincare as well. In fact, you may start to see mushroom based skincare trending in 2022. What’s behind this, if you’ll pardon the pun, overnight growth? Let’s take a look.

The Mushroom Skincare Trend

Mushrooms have been making the health food circuit for years. Starting out as an ingredient for fine dining, mushrooms found their way into health food recipes and tea. They quickly followed into the supplement game and now people are getting the most out of mushrooms in their skincare as well.

At Skin Actives Scientific, we’re not concerned with New Age fads. As our founder, Dr. Hannah Sivak said recently: 

“Let’s start by saying that this is an edible mushroom, and safety should always be our main concern. It has also been used in Chinese medicine for centuries.”

In this context, she was speaking about Tremella, a mushroom ingredient in one of Skin Actives’ newest products. But the reasoning is just as sound behind the use of the beta glucans found in yeast. 

While gut health has traditionally been the goal associated with mushroom teas, health foods and supplements aimed at internal health, particularly for stomach concerns, mushroom based products are now finding their way to skincare. Why?

Mushrooms tend to have all the things that you are looking for in a skincare product ingredient. Some have different properties than others, but some mushrooms are rich in the properties that we are always on the lookout for, especially here at Skin Actives Scientific. 

That’s right: we’re looking for anti-inflammatory benefits, antioxidant benefits, and collagen benefits.

The Top 3 Benefits of Tremella in Skincare

Is the keyword tremella what brought you here? We hope so, but we won’t be sad if you’re more inclined to think of tremella by one of its other names such as snow fungus, snow ear, silver ear fungus or, our personal favorite, white jelly mushroom.

When you see a picture of tremella, it’s positively beautiful, with thin translucent leaves of irregular shape, spreading in all sorts of organic and unexpected, but delightful directions. There is something about it that looks exquisitely delicate, almost dewy and the idea of it growing out of wood in the cold forest is sort of enchanting.

But the work that tremella can do for your skin is no fairy tale. This isn’t magic, this is science!

Benefit #1: Repairing Oxidant Damage - Oxidants are a part of the vital natural processes that make up your skin. That said, they can have this undesirable side-effect of aging your body and more specifically, your skin. What can we say, it’s the circle of life. Part of a strong health and wellness routine begins with limiting your exposure to oxidants that you find in the world around you. Pollution, especially smoke, are contributors, but UV light actually draws additional oxidants out of your skin, increasing the process we call “physical aging.” 

Antioxidants, chemicals that scour oxidants from your skin are key to preventing damage from the process of oxidation. Further, antioxidants can actually remove built up oxidants from your skin, depreciating the signs of their passing, such as wrinkles. This means that antioxidants are key to a healthy skin routine. 

Tremella is rich in antioxidant benefits and is formulated into skincare products just for this function. With it’s gel-like texture, tremella based products go on feeling smooth, soothing and rich, a clear benefit to antioxidants from other sources.

Benefit #2: Anti-Inflammatory Properties - We all know how bad inflamed skin can feel. Red, swollen, irritated. Inflammation usually pops up when something isn’t agreeing with us; a new detergent we are trying or maybe a mis-buy sunscreen from your favorite big box store on the recommendation of a friend. Regardless, when you are feeling inflamed, your skin needs a lot of soothing help, not additional troubles.

Tremella helps out perfectly on this front. First, tremella is a proven anti-inflammatory. This action will reduce redness to our skin along with itching and swelling, helping you get your life back to normal fast. Additionally, mushrooms are often known for their anti-allergic properties, so the likelihood that tremella is going to cause a reaction with your sensitive skin is much lower. Further, if your skin is already reacting, tremella is much less likely to exacerbate it further.

Benefit #3 - Collagen Breakdown - As Dr. Sivak says of tremella; “The polysaccharide will prevent oxidative damage by UVA and photoaging, and prevent collagen breakdown by proteases.” Since collagen breakdown is a state that we are always looking to reverse here at Skin Actives, we can go one step further by preventing the breakdown in the first place. 

As we know, the first step to health and well-being is prevention. This is why Skin Actives advocates for the adoption of skin-healthy lifestyle choices early on in life. It pays to start early! Meanwhile tremella can prove a potent ally in your anti-aging collagen routine. 

If you’re ready to get the benefits of tremella in your skincare routine, check out our Hydrating and Firming Age Defying Cream, available right now from our best-selling Advanced Ageless line of products.

If you’d like to hear more straight from Dr. Sivak herself, check out her personal blog where we’re sure you’ll find out even more about tremella!

Thanks for reading all the way to the bottom! Check us out this Friday when we have a brand new blog just for you!