As many of you already know, the skincare industry can be mystifying. In today’s digital age, there’s an abundance of information, but there’s also a significant amount of misinformation. One thing leads to another and skincare myths start being told as though they’re fact. To combat this misrepresentation, we will debunk common myths in skincare starting with two about silk: 

1) All Silk is Natural.

Let’s first define natural. To us at Silk Therapeutics, “natural” silk is the silk protein that makes up the fibers produced naturally by the B mori silkworm. This fiber forms the fabled cocoon, which was discovered in China millennia ago. As a result, natural silk has been worn in contact with human skin for over 5,000 years. Because it has survived the test of time, and beyond that, this same B mori silk protein that has been implanted in the human body for centuries and is an approved medical device throughout the world, we can begin to derive our notion of safety for pure silk in skincare. There are a number other forms of “silk” that sometimes find their way onto an ingredient list. Here we describe one unnatural form:

Hydrolyzed Silk. Hydrolyzed silk was once silk. In fact, it is typically produced from silk waste manufactured from the textile industry. This silk waste, instead of being thrown away, is mixed with a strong acid, the process known as hydrolysis. During hydrolysis, the acid actually breaks down the silk protein into amino acids, and at that point is much more comparable to a mix of amino acid supplements than to pure silk. Furthermore, when protein structure is lost, any notion of safety that can be drawn from our use of natural silk is lost with it.

2) If Silk is in the name it must be an ingredient:

When making decisions about your skin’s health, disregard the product’s name, cut through the jargon and go straight to the ingredient list. Unfortunately, most silk listed as an ingredient in the cosmetic world is a ghost of itself. If you do not see “silk” or “fibroin silk” listed in combination with “non-GMO,” odds are you don’t know what you are putting on your skin or the associated health implications. Ingredients such as “silk powder,” “sericin,” and “hydrolyzed silk” are not silk. While the name may make a noble attempt, the product cannot rely on the historical performance and safety of natural pure silk.

We recently announced that Silk Therapeutics now holds the US Patent on pure natural silk that is stable in liquid form. Odds are, if we do not make the product, you are not getting the benefits of this amazing protein for your skin’s health.

At Silk Therapeutics, it’s our goal to give you the healthiest, best-looking skin possible. To do so, it’s important to see past marketing myths and give you skincare that really and truly works. But more importantly than working well, we want it to work safely, so it’s important to know the real truth about what you’re putting on your skin.

-Dr. Greg Altman, Co-Founder, CEO, Silk Therapeutics