According to legend, the Chinese empress, who occupied the throne of the Celestial Empire approximately 3 millennia BC, was the first to get acquainted with silk fiber.
Legend has it that a cocoon of a twisted silkworm fell into her cup of tea. In hot water, he began to unwind, turning into the thinnest thread. The empress allegedly became interested in a strange thread of unusual length and ordered to weave a canvas from it. The fabric came out light and thin, did not give in to wear, and when rubbed against the skin, it made it silky and smooth.
From the point of view of modern researchers, she owed such properties to silk proteins, read more about them on estet-portal.com.
What properties of silk proteins are valued in skin care
Chinese emperors, wealthy citizens not only tried to wear clothes made of natural silk, they used pieces of silk to rub their skin, and after washing they wiped themselves with silk handkerchiefs to make their face smooth.
Today, researchers are convinced that there was a reason for such a habit. There are natural proteins in the silk thread, which, when in contact with the skin, improve its condition.
If you look at a silk thread under high magnification, you can see two stretching fibroin threads wrapped in a film of fat and wax, and they are covered with small lumps of sericin protein.
Wax film provides smoothness to the protein fiber, grease – strength, and sericin helps the thread stick together when forming a cocoon.
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A silk thread with a thickness of only 32 micrometers consists of three quarters of fibroin protein and a quarter – from sericin. It contains the amino acids glycine, serine, aspartic acid.
• Serine is important for building a protective skin mantle; without it, the synthesis of cell membrane lipids is impossible. It is involved in the formation of cellular DNA, the synthesis of muscle tissue.
• Glycine – amino acid, which is part of collagen, provides elasticity to the skin and ligaments. Without glycine, it is impossible to heal damaged tissues, restore damaged epidermis, and fully combat free radicals.
• Aspartic Acid – an amino acid that promotes the production of growth hormone and some other hormones that affect the condition of the skin.
Upon contact with the skin of pure fibroin and sericin, some of these substances are destroyed, and their amino acids freely penetrate into the depth, where they enter into the biochemical processes of skin restoration. Therefore, it was not in vain that the Chinese empresses rubbed their skin with handkerchiefs made of natural woven silk, achieving elasticity and smoothness of the skin.
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Possibilities of using silk proteins in face and body cosmetics
When fibroin and sericin get on the skin, some of their amino acids go deep into the layers of the skin and are used as a building material, while the rest remain in the upper layer and form a thin protective membrane that retains moisture in the skin and protects it from external influences.
At the same time, the membrane of proteins gradually dries up a little and contracts, creating a soft tightening effect on the skin.
In addition to protection and lifting, silk proteins:
• accelerate the healing of the skin in case of damage;
• used to produce collagen;
• participate in the restoration of connective tissue;
• restore the skin's ability to retain moisture;
• protect against the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation.
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Silk proteins (under the names Silk Proteines, Seidenprotein, etc.) can be found in cosmetic preparations intended for aging skin, for correcting skin suffering from increased oiliness, enlarged pores and inflammation, in masks and hair balms.
This ingredient is included not only in medical, but also in decorative cosmetics – for example, make-up base to make the skin smooth. Especially popular is the so-called silk powder. It contains granular silk proteins that reflect the sun's rays and give the effect of perfect skin smoothness. At the same time, silk protein granules protect the skin from UV rays and mattify the skin.
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