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Spider silk is stronger than steel and nearly as tough as Kevlar.
To understand why Eighteen B formulations work, you’ll have to start at the beginning. Here’s how we harnessed the power of silk to create b-silk™ protein, the proprietary key ingredient in our silk skincare.
Imagine a piece of silk fabric. It’s soft, smooth, and lightweight. Like the fabric, silk proteins are soft and silky, but they’re also incredibly strong. The most common silk used in consumer products is made by silkworms, but silk made by spiders is even stronger. It’s stronger than steel and nearly as tough as Kevlar, making it one of the strongest materials found in nature.
On a molecular level, it is a structural protein made of a long chain of repeating units, like a pearl necklace. This pattern of repeating segments is what makes it so strong. (FYI, b-silk™ protein has 18 of these “pearls.” That’s where our name comes from.)
It is tough, but it’s also highly biocompatible. When the body doesn’t recognize a material, it can elicit a negative immune response. Silk, on the other hand, is similar enough to your body’s molecular structure that your body doesn’t reject it. This makes this material ideally suited for regenerating and rebuilding human tissues.
Scientists use silk for sutures, surgical scaffolds and injectables, and vaccine stabilization. It has also been used as a scaffolding material to grow tissues ex vivo (think in a decked out petri dish called a bioreactor) such as skin, cornea, bone, blood vessel, liver, kidney, and cardiac tissue. As a bonus, it is biodegradable and will eventually return to the earth as protein.
Read more about exciting innovations in silk here.
So yes, this material is pretty wonderful. The biggest challenge is gathering a lot of it. Silkworm silk is more abundant than spider silk, but it’s difficult to convert silkworm fibers into a form that can be incorporated into skincare products. That’s where Eighteen B comes in. In our labs, we make b-silk™ protein, a protein inspired by spider silk using a fermentation process that’s sustainable and cruelty free.
B-silk™ protein, our proprietary key ingredient, forms a light, breathable barrier that simultaneously provides all-day hydration. By replenishing your vital barrier function, it leaves your skin incredibly soft and smooth while visibly firming, lifting, and increasing overall radiance.
Want to learn more about b-silk™ protein? Dive deeper here.
Do you have questions? Comments? Topics you want us to cover? We’d love to hear from you. Email us at thelab@eighteenb.com.
