WHY IS YOUR SKIN MICROBIOME SO IMPORTANT?
We’re living in an increasingly safe and conscious society. It is routine to regularly use bacteria and virus killing products, but how are these harsh products disturbing our skin, and the micro-organisms living on it? Thanks to new research developments, the microbiome has become a hot topic in skincare.
What exactly is our microbiome?
The skin's microbiome is the entirety of micro-organisms - bacteria, fungus, virus -living on the human body. It plays a protective role and is an integral part of the barrier function of our skin.
You need a balance of micro-organisms living on the skins surface in order to maintain its condition. Lack of diversity in the skin biome is believed to be connected to skin conditions, such as eczema, acne and rosacea.
And this balance changes throughout our lives. Babies and children (up to the 10 years) have a completely different make up to adults. In a recent article Kimberly Capone, Ph.D., Head of the Microbiome Platform, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health ran a decade long research programme on 30 mothers and their 31 children and established that that amongst other things, adults have a lot more lipids in their microbiome mix.
As shared in our previous blog on WHY SOAPS ARE MAKING A COMEBACK, we know that COVID 19 is wrapped in a lipid envelope and attaches itself, magnet like to other to lipids. The fact that adults naturally have more lipids in their microbiome make up, could explain why a lot more adults, than kids, are infected.
Skincare Buzz
Probiotic skincare has been trending in the beauty industry for many years now and finally, momentum is beginning to build, thanks to scientific advancements and, perhaps more recently, COVID-19 in piquing our interest in bacteria and bugs! Nourishing and protecting our skin has not been so high on consumers agenda’s as it is today. But what are the options when looking to include a microbiome friendly product?
Multi-biotic skincare explained
Pro-biotics - are probably the most well-known ‘friendly bacteria’ that we often hear about on TV as being good for our gut, but what affect does it have on our skin? Probiotics actually play a crucial role in stabilising the microbiome, creating an optimal environment for the good bugs. This helps them to form a shield to protect against bad bacteria and helps with other skin concerns such as preventing premature aging and reducing inflammation. It can also balance the skin to fight against acne causing bacteria, useful for those who have acne prone skin.
Pre-biotics - are substances on the skin that support the growth of probiotics which in turn helps to create a healthy environment for the skin microbiome.
Post-biotics - are the by-products that probiotics generate as they break down on and within skin’s surface. Postbiotics - enzymes, organic acids, polysaccharides, peptides — are powerful molecules that further reinforce your skin’s healthy barrier.
Microbiome vs our environment
Humans have gone from being well in touch with nature, to living predominantly indoors. We’re moving further away from personal hygiene and more into sterilisation. This makes us question, what effect is this having on our microbiome?
We’ve learned that a well-balanced micro-biome means that skin can protect itself from harmful invaders. However, our obsession with cleaning and hygiene has led to massive changes in the skin microbiome and harsher conditions for germs to thrive on. It is widely accepted that we have gradually lost strains of some bacteria from our microbiome. Studies have shown on uncontacted tribes around the world, bacteria exists that the rest of the world has lost. Correlating to this, these tribes don’t have the same incidences of acne, eczema, or other inflammatory conditions.
Technology to understand skin’s microbiome is only about 15 years old, so research is still at the very beginning. It is predicted that we will start to see a shift in the way we think about cleanliness and bacteria, which conflicts with current advice and way of living.
It took thousands of years for our microbiome to evolve to the point it was before and so the bigger question to ask is if our borderline sterile lifestyles are now doing us longer-term harm?
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