Add this to your skin-care vocabulary: Tremella fuciformisalso referred to as snow mushroom. It seems like something you’d come upon in a mystical forest, and yes, it’s a fungus, however it looks more like a white gelatinous flower than a mushroom. It’s commonly utilized in traditional sweet Chinese foods (like snow fungus soup) and has also been a staple ingredient in Asian medicine and skin take care of hundreds of years.

Now, it’s popping up as an energetic ingredient in skin-care products in Western beauty, and it’s even been labeled as the subsequent hyaluronic acid for its hydrating properties.

What exactly is snow mushroom?

This ingredient’s skin-care origins go way back to the imperial Tang dynasty for making a youthful, supple appearance, in line with cosmetic chemist Ginger King. Modern science can explain why: King says silver ear mushrooms, one more name for Tremella fuciformishave the flexibility to spice up skin hydration when ingested.

“Resulting from the gelatinous structure and high amount of polysaccharide, it has been utilized in skincare to supply hydration, as well,” she tells Allure.

What are the advantages of snow mushroom?

Board-certified dermatologist Dendy Engelman, MD, the director of dermatologic surgery at Metropolitan Hospital in Recent York City, says the fungus acts similarly to that of hydration powerhouse hyaluronic acid by pulling moisture to the skin. Hyaluronic acid can hold as much as 1,000 times its weight in water, so finding an all-natural match for its hydrating power is pretty major.

And snow mushroom has an additional edge. “The particles are smaller than hyaluronic acid, so it penetrates the skin more easily,” says Dr. Engelman. She cautions, nevertheless, that she desires to see more targeted studies on the ingredient’s skin-care properties before she hails it as a magic mushroom for moisture.

With that being said, board-certified dermatologist Hadley King, MD, who is predicated in Recent York City, notes that this mushroom — like most mushrooms, on the whole — is wealthy in fatty acids, which also help with moisture retention while stabilizing your skin barrier. “Mushrooms are also wealthy in vitamins A, [also known as retinol]C, and D and have antioxidant and anti inflammatory properties,” she says.