Smooth moves: the softest fiber found in nature is perfect for smoothing and hydrating your skin

Natural Health, Sept, 2004 by Megan O'Connell

Spun silk is the gold standard of softness, and hair products often contain silk extracts to give your hair this sleekest of textures. Now you can get the benefits of silk for skin as well.

With 17 amino acids and the ability to hold up to 300 times its weight in water, silk is considered to be the strongest of all natural fibers. This makes it an ideal ingredient to firm skin and increase moisture. Our favorite products, at right, contain natural silk extracts and proteins and are sure to leave your skin as smooth as you-know-what.

* Kanebo's The Silk

($130; kanebo.com) is a superhydrating and superexpensive night treatment for the face. After washing, apply Silk Skin Smoother cream, which contains an extract of Japan's finest silk fiber, Koishimaru ("tiny treasure"); then follow with the Silk Smooth Powder to lock in moisture. A lot of history stands behind this product: Kanebo, established in 1887 in Tokyo, began trading in silk in 1908; the company's first cosmetic, a silk-based soap, was released in 1936 after it was noted that women who worked with the fiber developed buttery-soft hands.

* BioSilk Silk Therapy

($12; farouck.com) is a multipurpose, silk-infused skin and hair serum. The molecular makeup of the silk complex allows it to penetrate the epidermis surface) of the skin, delivering soothing and hydrating benefits to the layers below. Use this vitamin E-rich gel to remove eye makeup, smooth rough, dry skin and tame flyaway and fizzy hair.

Photographs by PORNCHAI MITTONGTARE