Mushrooms are everywhere. They surround us in the woods when we go for a walk after a heavy spring rain. They’re omnipresent in recipes, both around the world and across the internet. They’ve even turned up in our coffee lately, so it was probably just a matter of time before they appeared in skincare products.
The company to thank for this latest development is a French firm called Verdoie, which just added a supplement called Le Complement Alimentaire to its existing line of mushroom-based moisturizers.
The science behind the shrooms
While this particular skincare product might sound like trend chasing, rest assured that it’s not. Founder Sonia Gaillis-Delepine comes from a long line of mushroom growers, starting with her great-great-grandfather, Pierre Louis, who began cultivating mushrooms in France back in the 1860s. When Gaillis-Delepine found herself facing chronic skin issues, it was only natural that she took what she learned from a formulation course and turned it into a product that capitalizes on the ability of mushrooms to both hydrate and heal skin.
After her initial learning, the work began in earnest. The Verdoie founder began working with mycologists and French labs, and when she had a product she tested it on over 200 people.The initial result was a proprietary beta-glucan blend that supports skin resilience, and that ultimately led to the development of products like Le Complement Alimentaire.
The key ingredients in Le Complement Alimentaire
This supplement supports the skin with a combination of hydrating nutraceuticals, potent antioxidants, and two functional medicinal mushrooms.
Skin hydration is supported by a clinically studied dose of glucosylceramides (GluCers) contained in a wheat polar lipids complex (WPLC) and a supporting dose of astaxanthin and Tremella mushroom extract. Adaptogenic and antioxidant Reishi mushroom extract helps prevent stress-induced oxidation, while vitamin E provides more antioxidant support.
- Ceramosides (hydrator)
- Tremella mushroom (hydrator)
- Reishi mushroom (adaptogenic)
- Vitamin E (antioxidant)
- Astaxanthin (antioxidant)
An inside-out approach to skincare
Gaillis-Delepine’s rigorous attention to detail during the formulation process also led to a different approach to skincare products. Le Complement Alimentaire is a supplement designed to work in tandem with Verdoie’s moisturizer, La Creme Hydratante.
The usage recommendations for these products are also different. The French do things differently, as the saying goes, and in this case, that translates to using skincare products on an ongoing basis before the skin is stressed and needs immediate care.
The clinical tests were impressive. The testing process in France is rigorous and more extensive, according to Gaillis-Delepine, and Verdoie claims that subjects experienced a 64.8% hydration boost in vivo within three hours of application. The mushrooms were produced in small, urban-based labs that will make these products more sustainable, the founder says.
The supplement and the cream are available for $88 each (30 capsules for the supplement and 50 mL of the cream), and they’re available for a slight discount as well.
