Mushroom beauty: do mushrooms really work in skincare?

Natural cosmetics spent years telling the story of flowers, leaves, roots, and seeds. For the past few seasons, the imagery has changed: tremella, reishi, chaga, shiitake, and cordyceps are appearing on shelves. They are not plants. They belong to a different biological kingdom.

The trend has a name, mushroom beauty, and real numbers behind it. But “contains mushrooms” is almost as vague as “contains plants”: tremella is not reishi, an extract is not the whole mushroom, and a property measured in a test tube is not the result of a cream. The useful question is not whether mushrooms work, but which species, in what form, and at what dose.

Cover image generated with the support of artificial intelligence.

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The market is genuinely growing

It is no longer a niche. According to Innova Market Insights market data, between July 2021 and June 2026, personal care launches featuring mushroom-derived ingredients grew at a compound annual growth rate of 14%. Skincare and haircare lead in terms of the number of new launches; body care is the fastest-growing segment.

It is easy to understand why they work. Mushrooms bring together three powerful narratives: Asian tradition, biotechnological innovation, and renewable raw materials. They have evocative names, look beautiful in photographs, and make it possible to talk about hydration, the skin barrier, and resilience. They are perfect for the contemporary language of beauty.

Which is exactly why it is worth looking at them closely.

From traditional medicine to the laboratory

Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) has been used for centuries in East Asian traditions. Tremella (Tremella fuciformis), or snow fungus, is part of Chinese food culture and beauty rituals. Chaga (Inonotus obliquus) grows in cold climates and is associated with the traditions of Northern Europe, Russia, and northern Asia.

The transition to modern cosmetics took place in three stages. First came generic extracts, incorporated into soothing formulas. Then wellness transformed mushrooms into adaptogens, a term born in another context and now used mainly for marketing. Finally, biotechnology began isolating polysaccharides, beta-glucans, and triterpenes, making precise characterization possible.

This is the stage at which things truly become interesting: the fungus stops being a symbol of naturalness and becomes a platform from which to derive active ingredients, polymers, and ferments.

The species are not interchangeable

Tremella: humectant and film-forming

It is the trend's most glamorous protagonist. Its polysaccharides have film-forming and water-retention properties that are useful in moisturizing formulas. A 2023 review in Clinical and Experimental Dermatology analyzed its potential skin benefits: hydration, barrier protection, photoaging, and repair. However, much of the evidence comes from cellular or animal models, and human clinical data remain limited.

It is often presented as «the hyaluronic acid of mushrooms». The comparison works on social media and holds up much less well in a formula: they are different molecules, with different structures, and are not interchangeable based on a slogan. I have taken apart this type of equivalence in detail in the piece on beta-glucan, the molecule most often used for this comparison.

Reishi: the most studied species

It is probably the one with the most literature on topical applications. The extracts contain beta-glucans, polysaccharides, phenolic compounds, and triterpenes. In the laboratory, antioxidant activity and inhibition of enzymes that degrade collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid have been observed; a 2024 review of macrofungi also compiles data on tyrosinase, the enzyme involved in melanogenesis.

These are useful signals for research. They do not amount to proof that a reishi cream lightens dark spots or reduces wrinkles under real-world conditions of use.

Chaga and cordyceps: the story is moving faster than the data

Chaga owes part of its popularity to its dark color and concentration of phenolic compounds. It is promoted for its antioxidant activity and for supporting skin under environmental stress: in vitro data are promising, while topical clinical evidence is still scarce.

Cordyceps follows the same trajectory, with one added complication: it is very well known in the supplements world, and transferring claims originating from oral consumption to cosmetics is incorrect. An ingested molecule and an extract applied to the skin barrier follow completely different pathways. The same distinction applies to consumed collagen and topical collagen, and it is often the first thing to disappear in marketing.

«Adaptogenic skincare»: a seductive, imprecise term

Many mushroom products are presented as cosmetics that help the skin «adapt to stress». It is an effective expression because it taps into a real desire: skin that is less reactive and less marked by fatigue.

The problem is that in cosmetics, "adaptogen" does not identify a standardized function. It is a narrative concept, not proof. To turn it into a credible claim, it is necessary to state which stress is being studied, which parameter changes, and with which test: redness, transepidermal water loss, oxidative markers, or perceived comfort.

The fact that an extract modulates a mediator in cultured cells is not enough to promise "more resilient" skin. The finished formula must demonstrate the claimed benefit. I have written separately about the relationship between stress and the appearance of the skin, and it is worth distinguishing the phenomenon, which is real, from the shortcut used to market it.

Not just active ingredients: fungi also change the structure of the formula

The less conspicuous part of the trend could prove to be the most solid. Functional materials can be obtained from fungi (fungal chitosan, beta-glucans, and other polysaccharides) and used as film-formers, thickeners, stabilizers, or delivery systems.

This means that a fungal derivative may contribute not to the claim but to the product's texture and technical performance. Some companies are studying them as biobased alternatives to ingredients of petrochemical or animal origin.

Be careful, however, with the word alternative: it does not demonstrate sustainability. Data is needed on cultivation, energy, solvents, yield, biodegradability, and life cycle. An ingredient obtained from a fungus is not automatically more sustainable. It may be, but this must be documented, and the work is still in its early stages.

How to read the INCI of a mushroom-based cosmetic

The label does not say "mushroom." Instead, it lists names such as Tremella Fuciformis Sporocarp Extract, Ganoderma Lucidum Extract, and Inonotus Obliquus Extract. The nomenclature indicates the species and sometimes the part used.

The INCI, however, only confirms presence. On its own, it does not say:

• the concentration;
• how many compounds were actually characterized;
• the extraction method;
• stability in the formula;
• which tests were conducted on the finished product.

Position must also be interpreted carefully: above 1%, ingredients are listed in descending order; below that threshold, the order is unrestricted. Finding an extract at the bottom does not prove that it is ineffective, because some active ingredients work at low percentages. It does, however, make it even more important to know what the effective dose is.

“Tremella is not reishi, an extract is not the whole mushroom, and a property measured in a test tube is not the result of a cream.”

Promising, documented, needs verification

Promising. Polysaccharides, beta-glucans, triterpenes, and phenolic compounds provide a real rationale for studying hydration, comfort, barrier function, and protection from oxidative stress. Tremella and reishi are currently the species with the most understandable cosmetic history.

Fairly well documented. The humectant and film-forming properties of some fungal polysaccharides, along with antioxidant activity observed in the laboratory, are well described. There is initial data on formulas and small human trials, but they are not yet consistent across species, extracts, and concentrations.

Needs verification. The more ambitious claims: a significant anti-ageing effect, reduction of dark spots, anti-acne action, and generalized “adaptogenic” capacity. Above all, their superiority over established ingredients, which must be demonstrated case by case and so far rarely has been.

Mushrooms are already in our formulas

Here I have to say something that makes the discussion less theoretical. In Couper Relief, the serum for skin with redness and couperose, there are two fungal extracts: Cordyceps sinensis and Trametes versicolor, the turkey tail mushroom. They are not at the bottom of the INCI list: they are among the first ingredients.

We did not include them because mushrooms were fashionable: that formula was created before they became a trend. We chose them for their polysaccharide profile, in a formula built around a specific peptide for redness and ceramides.

And that is precisely why discussion of the species is not pedantry. When I chose those two extracts, I did not choose “mushrooms”: I chose two specific organisms, with a specific profile, for a specific purpose. Another mushroom, in the same formula, would have done something else, or nothing at all.

My take

Mushroom beauty interests me because it clearly shows how a cosmetic family comes into being. First comes the powerful, photogenic imagery. Then the laboratory has to break it down into boring questions: which species? Fruiting body or mycelium? Aqueous extract or another process? How many beta-glucans? Is it stable? What is the functional dose? What does the finished formula demonstrate?

These are questions that apply to any ingredient, from the most traditional to the most biotechnological. The ingredient changes, but the criterion does not.

What intrigues me most isn't even the active component: it's the technological potential of fungal derivatives as film-formers and stabilizers. If they demonstrate performance, traceability and a measured environmental advantage, they will become something more lasting than a photogenic ingredient. If they remain a hat designed on the packaging, it will have been yet another story.

If you want to understand what’s really in a product before buying it, at LeLang partner pharmacies and para pharmacies you’ll find a pharmacist who knows how to read the label.