On April 7, 2026, Gattefossé announced the launch of Silkaress, a novel bioactive ingredient inspired by the feeling of silk. The company will showcase its latest ingredient at in-cosmetics Global in Paris, France.
According to the company’s press release, Silkaress mimics the protective function of silk by replicating the interplay between silkworms and white mulberry leaves. In sericulture, or cultivation of silk, silkworks feed exclusively on white mulberry leaves, and the nutrients of the leaves give silk its softness and protective properties. Further, Silkaress is able to modulate protein phosphorylation in keratinocytes, promoting skin resilience.
“Living systems have developed remarkable strategies to adapt, protect themselves and survive in constrained environments,” said Lucie Couturier, head of R&D at Gattefossé. Thanks to an exploratory work combined with our strong expertise in phytochemistry, bioprocessing and skin biology, we developed a bio-inspired phytocomplex that demonstrated exceptional adaptive capabilities. Leveraging AI, specifically bioinformatics, allowed us to further characterize the ingredient’s activation pathways in skin cells, with a particular focus on the post-translational phosphorylation process.”
In the company’s clinical studies, participants saw a silk-like protective effect that brought a deep feeling of comfort and well-being. Additionally, Silkaress showed a restructuring of the micro-relief and homogenization of hydration. Gattefossé also boasts the new ingredient as a climate-adaptive ingredient. The company claims that Silkaress activates critical signaling pathways for epidermal cohesion to promote skin resilience and support its ability to withstand shifting climate conditions.
“The market is shifting toward climate-adaptive beauty products that focus on skin resilience rather than simple protection,” said Laurie Canel, product marketing leader for active ingredients at Gattefossé. The unpredictability and interactions of environmental stressors require the development of responsive and more personalized formulas that adjust to individual lifestyles. Over the past years, our research team has delved into this new chapter with one question in mind: how can we help skin not just survive, but thrive, in an era of environmental volatility?”
Silkaress is an organic-certified ingredient and was developed in collaboration with the Cévennes National Park in southern France, known as the historic cradle of French sericulture.
