Babington Soap Establishes New Beauty Trend Poised to Mushroom
The magic of mushrooms (not to be confused for “magic mushrooms” of course) has been used by people for thousands of years for a variety of health reasons. Now, scientists have studied this ancient practice and found that mushrooms have some amazing applications for skin care.
Today, mushrooms are the hot new beauty product trend, and when it comes to skin care, 2020 and 2021 have seen a revolution of health and beauty products with mushroom-based ingredients. Out of this discovery grew a forest of new companies, including Babington Soap, which put itself at the forefront of this trend by using a rare mushroom-based ingredient that works as a moisturizer in its hand sanitizer product.
The Origins of Mushrooms as a Health and Beauty Product
Mushrooms have largely been embraced for their health benefits because of their ability to work with the body’s natural functions to restore and heal. This is achieved by aiding the body’s stress response to correct imbalances and to restore vitality.
“When applied topically, those benefits are delivered to the application site,” said Michael Ahmad, who is Herbivore Botanica’s national education manager. “Simply put, mushrooms can help protect the skin from environmental aggressors and restore troubled skin to its peaceful baseline.”
Mushrooms have been applied by Asian cultures for thousands of years and have been commonly used in Chinese medicinal practices. There are over 14,000 species of mushrooms, and thanks to traditional Chinese medicine and modern scientific studies, we’re able to identify which ones work for different applications. Hundreds of studies that have affirmed the positive applications of mushrooms as a health and beauty product.
Though the riddle of mushrooms for medicinal purposes was in fact unlocked long ago, it wasn’t until recently that ingredients derived from mushrooms were applied topically. In 2005, a medical expert named Dr. Andrew Weil rebranded mushrooms when he founded Origin and released his Mega-Mushroom line of skin-care products. They’re designed to combat inflammation in order to protect skin from irritants and stressors.
Dr. Weil unlocked a discovery that many companies have embraced, that mushroom-based ingredients like the chitosan that Babington Soap uses, for example, are marvelous for employing the body’s natural functions to retain moisture. The products produced by Babington Soap and Origin managed to extract a number of ingredients out of a variety of mushrooms, such as reishi, cordyceps, tremola and chaga. These ingredients, and many more, have several health and beauty applications for people’s skin.
If You Have Mushrooms on the Brain Try Putting Them on Your Skin Instead
The most magical transformation made by mushrooms may occur in your head, but you’d be amazed at what they can do to transform your skin. Babington Soap has embraced these amazing functions in its own use of chitosan. Chitosan has many of the same applications as the beauty fungi shown below.
Reishi - Reishi shares a lot of the same functions as Babington Soap’s chitosan when used as a beauty product. Often referred to as the “mushroom of immortality,” reishi helps with inflammation and is known for its ability to combat wrinkles. It does this by working similarly to chitosan, whereby reishi traps water to keep your skin hydrated.
Chaga - Chaga is an adaptogenic mushroom, meaning it’s non-toxic to humans. It contains high levels of antioxidants and thus is used as a liver supplement. For beauty purposes, scientists extract its betulinic acid, which is being researched as a wound cover because of its ability to help skin irritation and work as an antiseptic.
Shiitake - Yes indeed, we’re talking about arguably the most delicious mushroom species in the world. But the shiitake mushroom is also harvested for its health benefits, as it contains antioxidants that prevent cellular breakdown, thus its use as an age-defying product. Amazingly, shiitake also contains high amounts of Vitamin D and complex B vitamins.
Cordyceps - Cordyceps is a fantastic fungi that has several beauty applications and works so well as an anti-inflammatory, that it’s even being linked to fighting eczema. Like chaga, it contains a large amount of antioxidants, and like chitosan, it helps hydrate skin by locking in moisture.
Chitosan - Chitosan ensures that skin maintains its moisture by locking in the skin cells’ water stores, thus resulting in smooth, healthy skin. Much like the body’s natural moisturization functions, chitosan mimics the role of sebum by forming an impermeable barrier over the skin to prevent water loss from the skin cells.
This Beauty Trend isn’t Decaying, It’s Mushrooming
From the outside looking in, it might seem a bit trippy that mushroom ingredients are being used as beauty products, but in reality, these are products that have been waiting to blow their caps. The reason why we’re seeing mushroom-based beauty products trend now is because people are embracing plant-based, all-natural ingredients over chemicals, and scientists are constantly creating better products.
Mushrooms are a fascinating piece of the puzzle that is earth’s complex ecosystem. They have captivated the mind (in more ways than one) and continue to have a loyal following, no matter what form they take. As evidence of a growing interest in mushroom-based beauty products and their applications, internet searches on keywords such as “reishi,” “chaga” and “chitosan” reveal that the public at large is diving into the minutiae. Searches are specific, show more interest and are certainly more complex than a simple “mushroom skincare” Google search.
And it’s here where the modern meets the ancient, as modern mushroom sleuths meet ancient fungi apothecaries to bring mushrooms full circle. The age-old practice that began thousands of years prior in Asia has circled the globe and spread into mainstream circles. In essence, the use of mushroom products for their health benefits has transformed wellness and beauty.
Much like Dr. Weil’s Origin, which gained traction as a company as consumer demand for sustainability and natural ingredients increased, Babington Soap knows that its clients, more than ever, are paying attention to what products they consume. Our customers want vegan-friendly, plant-based products that don’t contain any parabens, sulfates or phthalates. They want natural ingredients that work, such as chitosan, so their clients can feel nourished and healthy.
Babington Soap is betting that this feeling of wellness, naturalness and sustainability will last long into the future. They’re counting on consumers maintaining that thirst for knowledge, and hunger for this mushrooming trend.