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Truffles have been a delicacy since ancient Roman times. At the turn of the 18th century, they gained even more popularity and were served at only the fanciest dinners prepared for wealthy nobles. Now in the 21st century, we enjoy their richly flavored oil in everything from risotto and pasta, to fries to pizza.
But despite being a culinary treasure for literally thousands of years, it wasn’t until the last few decades that we discovered the benefits of using truffle in our skincare. We have Giuseppina Balestra to thank for this revelation. Back in 1950, she started making her own truffle beauty oil, which her clients swore made their skin look younger. Considering all of the skin-loving nutrients packed inside these precious little ‘shrooms, it’s no wonder!
The Benefits of Truffles in Skincare
Truffles are type of fungi, and like all fungi, they’re naturally high in vitamins A, C and D and antioxidants. When added to skincare formulations, these vitamins penetrate deeply, and work to nourish, repair, and protect our skin. White truffles are especially high in vitamin C, which helps brighten the skin and fade dark spots and hyperpigmentation. They’re also high in B vitamins which help to hydrate and repair skin.
When it comes to hydration, fungi is packed with essential fatty acids that help our skin retain its natural moisture levels. This in turn creates a natural glow and softens lines and wrinkles.
The truffle oil that’s used in skincare products also contains a special enzyme called superoxide dismutase, or SOD. SOD is one of the body’s most powerful natural antioxidant enzymes (1). It helps break down potentially harmful oxygen molecules in our cells and prevents them from damaging the skin so that it can stay smooth, firm, and youthful for longer.
And finally, truffles are rich in anti-inflammatory components, so they help soothe skin and reduce inflammation and redness associated with things like acne, rosacea and eczema.
With all these benefits, it’s no surprise that truffles are finding their way into our skincare products. It’s the ultimate luxury ingredient, but due to its rarity, it doesn’t come cheap. On average, white truffles price around $8,000 per pound.
Why the high price tag? For one, these mushrooms are only in season for a short time – from late October through December – and only in certain parts of the world – mainly around Piedmont, Italy. Even after they’ve been ‘sniffed out’ in the wild (by animals with a specific olfactory that can detect the ripe spores’ aroma), it can still take a few days to harvest even just a pounds worth. That’s because truffles grow in the roots of certain trees and its potent part – the tuber – grows underneath. Even after they’ve been harvested, they still need to go through several extractions to yield the oil that’s used in our skin care.
Despite this lengthy process of harvesting and extracting truffle oil, more and more luxury brands are catching wind of its incredible benefits and infusing it into their beauty products. While many brands are still in the early stages of developing truffle skincare, Truffoire, an up-and-coming luxury brand currently offers six truffle-infused skincare lines – from their Volcanic and Orchidea Truffle Collections, to their signature Black and White Truffle Collections.
As a complete newbie to truffle skincare, I was drawn to their White Truffle Collection as it offers all the benefits of white truffles (which, from what I’ve read, are richer in minerals and amino acids compared to black truffles) at a price point that seems reasonable considering their rarity.
Truffoire White Truffle Collection
Truffoire’s White Truffle Collection includes a total of seven products for both men and women, all of which are infused with tuber aestivum (white truffle) extract. From everyday essentials like cleansers, moisturizers, and serums, to specialty peels and masks, they’ve created the ultimate, most complete truffle-infused skincare routine.
As tempting as it may be to pick up the entire collection, it’s not going to be within everyone’s budget. Even if price were out of the picture, I’d still suggest starting small with maybe 1-2 staple products – i.e. ones that have time to really sit and absorb into your skin, and that you’ll use every day. From Truffoire’s White Truffle Collection, the two I’d recommend are their day and night moisturizers. I used both for 4 weeks (during the coldest and driest months here in Pennsylvania I might add!) and loved my results…
White Truffle Day Moisturizer
As someone with combination skin, finding a moisturizer that creates the perfect balance can be tough. With a mix of dry, flaky areas, to a super oily T-zone, I need a daily moisturizer that provides intense hydration without feeling heavy or greasy, and Truffoire’s Day Moisturizer does just that!
The formula’s texture feels ultra-cushiony and lightweight, while on the skin, it provides intense hydration that instantly smooths and plumps, and even gives my complexion a soft glow. What I appreciate most about this daytime formula is that it absorbs quickly and leaves my skin shine-free and non-greasy, making it the perfect pre-step to my makeup routine.
Based of my own experience, I can see this moisturizer working for all skintypes. Dry skin will get the surge of hydration is needs, while oily skin will feel more balanced with less oil production throughout the day.
White Truffle Night Cream
The Truffoire White Truffle Night Cream is very similar to the day moisturizer, only it’s slightly heavier and richer, and also more deeply hydrating, as a night cream should be. It works to even more intensely moisturize my skin while I sleep, and the next morning, it shows! My skin will look smooth and softer and simply more radiant and glowy the next day.
Just like the day moisturizer, I can see the night cream working for all skin types as well. For oily though, I’d recommend a lighter application, and make sure to rinse off in the morning and apply a lighter day moisturizer, like the one above.
If you’re looking to concentrate more on the eye area, Truffoire offers not one, but two specially eye products – a cream and a serum – to help combat fine lines and wrinkles using a bit of truffle magic.
Now, you may be wondering if you need to use a serum and a cream, and really that’s entirely up to you. Just like in our daily facial routines, some of us prefer to use just a moisturizer, while others like to use serums for extra skincare benefits. But if you’re wondering if they’re the same, they’re not – serums and creams are each formulated with different target ingredients that penetrate our skin at different levels to address different skin concerns –
- Serums tend to be more potent with active ingredients, and are made up of smaller molecules that penetrate more deeply into the skin (hence why they come in airtight bottles to protect those precious ingredients, and why they tend to cost more).
- Creams focus on the outer most layer of our skin. Their primary purpose is to maintain our skin’s natural moisture levels, but they also protect our skin’s natural barrier from environmental toxins and other stressors.
When we’re talking about our eyes – the most delicate part of our face that’s also the most unforgiving when it comes to damage – I personally wouldn’t hesitate to use both! And I think I may have found the perfect match in Truffoire’s White Truffle Eye Serum and Eye Cream.
White Truffle Eye Serum & Cream
Truffoire’s White Truffle Eye Serum and Cream are each packed with a powerhouse of skin-loving ingredients. In addition to white truffle extract, the two include:
- Camellia sinensis leaf extract aka green tea – helps reduce the appearance of dark circles, and is also antioxidant and polyphenol-rich
- Aloe vera – known for its antioxidant properties that can help prevent damage caused by the harmful UV rays of the sun
- Palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7 – rich in palmitic acid to help hydrate the skin, plus four amino acids, which allow it to easily penetrate your skin barrier to fight inflammation and slow signs of aging.
I’ve always had trouble with my eye area as being the driest and noticeably, well, wrinkly part of my face, but all that changed when I started using the Eye Serum and Cream duo. Both morning and night, I’ll start by applying the White Truffle Eye Serum, which only takes the smallest, pea-sized amount to cover both eyes (I expect that full container will last me at least 6 months, maybe even a year!). I’ll gently pat the clear, lightweight gel formula into my skin until it’s fully absorbed.
Honestly, it’s the most refreshing, skin-quenching eye product I’ve tried so far – my skin just drinks it up! By the way, this is the product that works all the magic when it comes to restoring your skin – it’s what penetrates the deeper levels of your skin to help minimize the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines at the corner of your eyes.
Next up, is the preventative step – the White Truffle Eye Cream. To maintain moisture and protect the delicate skin around my eye, I’ll apply a small pea-sized amount right over top of the serum, tapping it in all around my under eye, eye lid, and up to the brow bone. Just like the day moisturizer, it has a cushiony, lightweight feel. It sinks into my skin quickly and provides that extra layer of hydration that my skin so desperately needs.
Even layered up, these two formulas leave my entire eye area feeling soft, supple, smooth, and lightly hydrated. The best part is, they don’t leave any residue or annoying films behind, and they don’t feel greasy or heavy. Both work together beautifully under makeup in the mornings, and in the evening, they help lock in moisture and smooth my skin while I sleep.
I’ve been using this set for about one month now, and even in such a short amount of time, it’s helped diminish the fine lines all around my eyes. Here’s at look at my before and after, taken at the 3-week mark…
And here’s a close up…
To me, these results were more than impressive. In the before photo, I had quite a few fine lines all around the corner of my eyes, while in the after photo, they’ve noticeably diminished, and my entire area looks smoother and more softened. Needless to say, I’ll be continuing to use this duo and the two face creams for as long as they last (and I’d expect that to be quite a while – I barely made a dent in the jars so far!).
Final Thoughts
Overall, truffles are definitely something to consider adding to your skincare routine, especially if you have drier skin, or struggle with fine lines and wrinkles. Considering their amazing restorative and rejuvenating benefits, I wouldn’t be surprised if more and more brands started infusing truffle into their skin, hair, and body care products over the next few years!
If you’re looking to experiment with truffle skincare, just remember that to get the real deal – meaning real truffle extract and not some synthetic variety – you’re going to have to pay a little extra. With that in mind, I personally believe that Truffoire’s high-quality formulas, particularly their White Truffle Collection, are worth the price. They carefully source their truffle extracts to create an effective skincare line that, from my experience, really delivers!
Learn more at Truffoire, or check them out on Facebook & Instagram!
What are your thoughts on using white truffles in skincare products? Have you/would you try out truffle-infused beauty products?
In partnership with Truffoire, a brand I’m absolutely loving and excited to help promote!