In formulations, "Malassezin dramatically reduces the appearance of dark spots, and also delivers powerful results for smoothing skin texture, minimizing the look of lines and wrinkles, supporting the skin barrier and protecting against free radical damage," per Mother Science.
Mother Science
Mother Science has launched Retinol Synergist, pairing the brand's Malassezin and retinol.
The brand has also received 3.5 million in new funding.
The Launch of Retinol Synergist
According to a 2022 publication in Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, Malassezin is "a natural indole compound produced by M. furfur" (Malassezia furfur, a yeast found on human skin) that can "induce melanocyte apoptosis, dose-dependent induction of apoptotic markers, and decreased melanin synthesis in melanocyte cultures."
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It can also "suppress melanogenesis and decrease skin pigmentation."
According to Mother science, Malassezin's antioxidant power is 10x stronger than vitamin C.
In formulations, "Malassezin dramatically reduces the appearance of dark spots, and also delivers powerful results for smoothing skin texture, minimizing the look of lines and wrinkles, supporting the skin barrier and protecting against free radical damage," per Mother Science.
Retinol Synergist takes this power and matches it with encapsulated retinol for gentle anti-aging and a concentrate of ceramides and fatty acids to support the skin's barrier, again supporting gentle care.
Because retinol and Malassezin operate via different pathways, their benefits are complementary, rather than redundant, according to the brand.
The result is an improved skin moisture barrier and diminished appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, per Mother Science.
“During our extensive research of Malassezin we discovered that it has many incredible properties for skin renewal and targeting global aging concerns, one of which is wrinkle reduction," said Mike Einziger and Ann Marie Simpson-Einziger, co-founders of Mother Science. “As our second debut product, we are excited to pair it with the gold standard in anti-aging to create the next generation of retinol with the launch of Retinol Synergist.”
New Funding for Mother Science
Mother Science has raised 3.5 million from Greycroft and others. The funds follow a $6.2 million raise in November 2022, the majority of which came from a seed round led by Female Founders Fund.
Concurrently, Katherine Power, a partner at Greycroft and the founder of Merit Beauty, Versed Skincare and Avaline Wine, is joining the Mother Science board of directors.
“We are thrilled to have Katherine join in an official capacity as she has been a longtime supporter of Mother Science and our patented groundbreaking Malassezin ingredient, said Edna Coryell, CEO of Mother Science. “We are excited for this next chapter in writing the playbook of bringing a new ingredient to the industry with landscape changing efficacy and building out the product pipeline of the next gold standard skin care solutions.”
Power noted, "I've been closely following Mother Science since the early stages, especially after experiencing the transformative power of Malassezin in the Mother Science Molecular Hero Serum firsthand. Malassezin is a breakthrough ingredient in skin care, and I'm thrilled to join forces with Ann Marie and Michael to propel their vision forward, assembling a stellar team and driving exponential growth for the company."
