Decoct, Dry, and Grind for smooth Shiitake Powder
Channel: Brooke Bridges
Date: 24/02/2022

This is the process I use to ensure the shiitake powder I'm mixing in for my clay masks (https://www.brookesbotanicals.co/product-page/black-gold-clay-mask) is full of the water-soluble medicinal constituents in the shiitakes, and is smooth enough to apply to the face along with the clay! The water soluble properties in mushrooms are Lentinan (a B glucan polysaccharide)  - which has been approved in Japan as an anti-cancer drug. 

Shiitakes contain anti-allergenic, anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties. It contains topically active polysaccharides – chains of sugars, which benefit immune cell function. In research studies, shiitake mushroom has been shown to maintain hyaluronidase levels, helping ageing skin repair and rejuvenate itself. Shiitake mushroom is used extensively in Eastern medicine for renewal.

The first step is to take your dried shiitakes, you can grind them a bit if you want, add them to a pot with water and simmer for about 3-4 hours. Then drain your mushrooms and cook down the liquid until you have a very concentrated broth. Let that mixture cool, and then add organic white rice flour (or any flour but I use white rice because it's gluten free and also beneficial to the skin) and form into patties, and dehydrate at around 115 until they snap. 

Add to a blender and grind until nice and smooth! 

This is the process I use for all of the mushrooms in my masks - shiitake, maitake, reishi, and turkey tail.