SERICIN
SERICIN is a protein obtained from the silk made by the silkworm Bombyx mori. In the cocoon, it forms a layer around fibroin filaments and helps bind them together, acting as a natural coating that keeps the silk thread cohesive.
SERICIN: what it is
SERICIN is a protein obtained from the silk made by the silkworm Bombyx mori. In the cocoon, it forms a layer around fibroin filaments and helps bind them together, acting as a natural coating that keeps the silk thread cohesive.
It is not the same protein that makes up silk's inner filament: fibroin forms the fibrous core, while sericin is more closely associated with the coating around it. Sericin for cosmetic use can be recovered from this part of the silk, and features such as solubility and material behaviour can vary with the extraction and processing method.
SERICIN: what it does in cosmetics
In hair products, sericin can reduce static charge on the strands, which may lessen a flyaway appearance. Its hair-conditioning role is intended to make hair easier to comb, more supple and softer to the touch, so it can appear in formulas designed for the lengths and finish of the hair.
In skin products, its conditioning and smoothing roles relate to maintaining a more even-feeling surface and reducing the sensation of roughness. Research also explores sericin as a biomaterial in laboratory and biomedical preparations, but that work does not show that an everyday cosmetic treats wounds, acne, dark spots or signs of ageing.
Products containing this ingredient
See which products include it and the name used in each composition.
