Mycofuse™ Protect

Mycofuse® Protect offers a water-soluble ingredient developed to provide nourishing and revitalizing benefits to cosmetic and personal care formulations. This unique combination of water, Lentinus edodes mycelium extract, and Lactobacillus ferment provides protective properties to hair follicles. Mycelium technology provides a protective shield, forming a barrier against external aggressors such as pollution and thermal damage while enhancing the visual aesthetic of the overall hair.

STORY

Fungi are at the forefront of an environmental and medicinal movement, making them essential for the future of the planet, as well as health and innate immunity. Growing awareness of health-boosting superfoods has contributed to research in mycology, or the study of fungi. Consumers are typically familiar with mushrooms, or the fruiting body of fungi, due to their popularity throughout the nutritional realm. Hailed as healthy for the planet, mushrooms maintain a low carbon footprint and a sustainable life cycle for more than just the beauty industry. Advances in science and technology pave the way for innovative biotechnology such as the use of fungal mycelium.

Mycelium, the root structure of mushrooms, co-exist in nature’s complex communities forming symbiotic relationships with various botanicals and ecosystems. Mycelium is forming an influential network in architecture, agriculture, food, fashion, and medical technology. The emergence of nature’s sustainable infrastructure, mycelium-harnessed technology is achieving scaffolding for skin substitutes, as well as ecosystem engineering, and alternatives to synthetic foams and plastics. From plant-based meats to reliable building materials, mycelium could curb our reliance on plastics, fuel, and excessive energy use. With minimal waste and energy cost, mycelium offers an answer to sustainability concerns. Harnessing the innovative potential of mycelium, Mycofuse® Protect is the beginning of a fungi revolution for the beauty industry. Mycofuse® Protect optimizes sustainable mycelium technology to shield and strengthen hair. The renewable nature of mushrooms and mycelium prompt their incorporation into various beauty applications.

SCIENCE

Mycelium is gaining momentum as a fungal biotechnology for advances in building materials, wound scaffolding, and alternatives to synthetic foams and plastics. Engineering advances utilize mycelium components for adhesive properties as this vegetative fungus tissue naturally binds together different components such as wood, soil, and other loose particles. Mycelium grow due to a symbiotic relationship with the materials that feed it, ultimately creating a network of branching fibers or filaments called hyphae. These networks extend for excessive lengths, such as the mycelium network in the Oregon Blue Mountains that occupies 10km. The diet of mycelium influences the concentrations of polysaccharides, lipids, proteins, chitin, and enzymes present in the fibrous structures. As mycelium progresses through an environment, whether in nature or through a predetermined engineering design, enzymes are released to degrade food particles. Food for mycelium can include plant components to toxic waste and pollutants. As materials are degraded, mycelium physically binds together leftover particles, creating stable forms and structures. This ability is transforming the innovation of alternative building materials for wood, concrete, and plastic, as well as ecosystem engineering by preserving fungal carbon mineralization during drought.

Mainly composed of natural polymers such as proteins, cellulose, chitin, and other polysaccharides (chitosan), mycelium is a naturally fibrous material. Polysaccharides contribute to the fungi’s adhesive capability and prompt the concept of nature’s glue. Chitosan, specifically, possesses intrinsic antifungal, antibacterial, hemostatic, and muco-adhesive properties, having been used in the biomedical field for the treatment of burns and wounds. Harnessing commonalities of nature, we employ mycelium technology to transform hair care. Mycofuse® Protect optimizes Lentinus edodes (shiitake) mycelium polysaccharides to shield hair strands from thermal damage, while masking visible damage from chemical processes such as bleach. The adhesive properties of mycelium encourage the ability of Mycofuse® Protect to attach or fuse to the hair strand and seal the cuticle. Raised hair cuticles result in loss of moisture and opportunities for additional damage to the hair strand. For hair protection, Mycofuse® Protect smooths the hair cuticles while improving physical and mechanical properties of the hair strand including strength and elasticity. Mycelium technology provides a protective shield, forming a barrier against external aggressors such as pollution and thermal damage while enhancing the visual aesthetic of the overall hair.