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One of the latest buzzwords in the wellness industry is adaptogens. There is a lot of conversation around the topic—from trendy branding to simple bags of herbs at the store. But what you might not know is the power that adaptogens play in creating healthy, vibrant skin.

Today, we’re breaking down the science behind why adaptogens work and why they’re beneficial—both for your overall health and helping you achieve radiant, balanced skin. 

What’s are adaptogens? What do they do?

In the broadest sense, adaptogens are herbal extracts. They help regulate your body’s natural response to stress by adapting to support all major systems—including nervous, endocrine, and immune—and helping your body adapt and respond to both environmental and psychological stressors, such as fatigue, depression, anxiety, and more. These super-herbs and super-mushrooms are natural bioregulators and work like antioxidants to shield the body from modern-life stressors and promote your body’s innate ability to recover from stress and restore balance, by favoring the synthesis of proteins involved in our body's stress resistance system.

According to the primary definition coined in the early 1950s, adaptogens work double duty in not only assisting the body with a wide range of adverse conditions, such as physical, chemical or biological stress, but also by offsetting imbalances triggered by external stress. And most importantly of all, adaptogens don’t harm the normal functions of the body.

Why are adaptogens important for your skincare?

Sold yet on the power of adaptogens? We certainly are—by modulating any stress-caused imbalance, adaptogens help your skin fight back and strengthen its natural response to external factors. They also have a wonderful calming effect on overall health, such as adrenal, heart, and other body systems.

Unlike internal organs in your body, your skin can receive adaptogens directly. When used in cosmetics, adaptogens have the power to decrease inflammation, decrease oil production, and support well-hydrated, protected, and properly cleansed skin.

This is because most adaptogens are naturally rich in polysaccharides—water-binding agents—that improve your skin’s ability to hold moisture. Polysaccharides are especially important for aging skin and delicate tissue, such as the under-eye area.

And, if you suffer from regular acne, adaptogens may help keep breakouts at bay. There is a link between stress and acne: when our bodies are stressed, our skin produces a natural oil called sebum. Adaptogens have been found to target the adrenal glands which results in normalizing hormone levels, decreasing inflammation, controlling oil production, and having an overall positive effect on reactive, acne-prone skin.

Adaptogens can also help:

• Balance skin’s natural oil production
• Remove impurities from the skin
• Create natural defenses to protect the skin
• Soothe and calm angry skin
• Rejuvenate your complexion

Powerful adaptogens your skin will appreciate

ORPHEUS formulas are power packed with stem cells, peptides, and bioactive ferments and adaptogens play a huge role to tackle stressed, disbalanced skin on different layers. Here’s why these two powerful adaptogens, found in our Resurrection All-in-one serum, protect, and transform even the most tired and stressed skin and give you that red-carpet radiant glow — no matter how stressful life may get.

Snow Mushroom

Commonly used in traditional Chinese foods, snow mushroom has been a staple of Asian medicine and skincare for decades. A potent adaptogen, this super moisturizing mushroom (nature’s sponge) is a natural multi-tasked that supports skin’s collagen and elastin production.

The power of the snow mushroom comes from Tremella polysaccharides. These long chains of molecules help provide stability to the skin cells as well as an excellent moisturizing and anti-wrinkle effect, for which this mushroom is also said to be the new Hyaluronic acid!

Studies have proven that when Tremella polysaccharides were applied to skin topically for 4 weeks, it forms a natural flexible hydration film and shows remarkable water holding capacity with even better results than the Hyaluronic Acid in giving the skin one heck of a hydration boost!

To increase the hydrating and calming effect, we pair snow mushroom extract with two molecules of hyaluronic acid in our multi-correctional Resurrection All-in-one serum. Snow mushroom extract is a bacterially fermented hyaluronic acid with even smaller particles than HA that allow for skin-deep penetration, providing intense moisture that creates a lasting hydration barrier for supple, smooth skin with resilience and bounce.

Wild Indigo

Our serum actively works to diminish the effect of the modern-life stressors on skin. Adaptogens help strengthen the barrier function of your skin, helping stressed skin find its glow. It works in a simple yet effective way: by inhibiting your body’s cortisol response. When the botanical extract pauses your body’s response to stress, it reduces redness, irritation, and inflammation.

Let’s break it down. When you’re stressed, your body releases a hormone called cortisol. This hormone can wreak havoc on both your skin and your health—stress is good for no one! — high levels of cortisol decrease the skin’s natural ability to retain water. Skin concerns like dryness, dullness, or inflammation, could be caused by stress. 

Lab studies on Wild Indigo extract have proven its potent dual fast-acting stress-repair action: balancing the cortisol in the body, by reducing its production by 70%, while also stimulating the natural relaxing, pain-relief peptide in the skin (beta-endorphin) by 163%.

If you're experiencing occasional breakouts, dull or uneven skin tone, let our multi-correctional one-step serum work its miracle on your skin. To help you achieve maximum calm, we’ve paired wild indigo with a Lactobacillus probiotic ferment. It strengthens your skin’s natural defense system and supports a healthy microbiome by forming a protective shield over your skin. It calms irritated skin and reduces redness, increasing overall skin health and luminosity.

Modern life provides us with so many wonderful, unique experiences—but no good comes without its own set of challenges. Adaptogens are as important for your diet as they are for your skin as they help your body come into alignment with its natural equilibrium, no matter what life sends your way.

Curious about something you just read? Feel free to reach out with questions! We’d love to hear from you. 

• #Powerful Bioactives