So why add mushrooms to skin care oils, ointments, salves, and balms? Sounds a little creepy, fungi on your skin. Yet mushrooms occur in symbiotic harmony in healthy ecosystems all around the world, your body included. Adding medicinal mushrooms to herbal skin preparations adds a grounding, interconnecting element to the matrix of herbs. Herbs and fungi work together to provide an overall healing experience. 90% of higher plants survive and thrive because of mycorrhizal associations with roots. These intricate fungal networks alive in soil and plants fortify immunity and promote health.
Reishi mushroom, also known as Ganoderma lucidum contains polysaccharides and ganodermic acid. These constituents are anti-inflammatory, and help reduce the presence of and destruction caused by free radicals. Reishi promotes cell regeneration, balances skin, and promotes an immune response. In Traditional Chinese medicine, Reishi is used to help reduce puffiness, wrinkles, and skin inflammation. Lion's Mane, Heracium erinaceous, is another mushroom which has been shown to have nerve regenerative properties. Using Lion's Mane in herbal skin preparations may help regenerate wounded or damaged skin.
Mushrooms and herbs go together, in nature, in the salve, and in the delicate ecosystems of our human selves.
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