Skin Microbiome: A New Frontier

How often do you think about your microbiome? Maybe you think about it in your gut, but what about your skin?

In the beauty and skincare community, cosmetic companies are still researching how to make products to support a healthy skin microbiome. They are continuing to learn about what can harm the microbiome and are trying to gain more knowledge about what products and ingredients will help it.

Understanding Microbiome

Sometimes you will hear people talking about gut health. Typically when people mention this topic, they are talking about the microbiome in your gut. The microbiome fights off bad bacteria keeping you healthy and strong. For gut health, people will take probiotics and eat food with nutrients that help keep it strong. 

What is our skin’s microbiome?

The skin microbiome is the good bacteria, fungi, and viruses on your skin that keep it healthy. The more strains that you have on your skin, the healthier it is.

You have trillions of microbiomes on your face. I know that sounds like a lot! Think about it this way, you are never lonely because you have trillions of little friends always with you. 

Your microbiome is a barrier to your skin. It is the first defense system to any bad bacteria or pollution that wants to harm you. Each one plays a part in protecting your skin from the environment around you, deciding what can enter your skin and what cannot.  

The skin microbiome also is different on each body part. For example, the skin on your foot plays a different part in life than the skin on your face. This means that the microbiome needs to be different in those areas. The microbiome varies from person to person as well. It is like a unique fingerprint that each person has.

How do you know if you have a healthy microbiome or not? When your skin’s microbiome is disrupted, it leads to skin infections and skin diseases. These can range from acne to eczema. A disturbance in the microbiome can even cause dryness and wrinkles.

What Harms Your Skin’s Microbiome

There are different products and skincare routines that affect your microbiome. One is overactive hygiene care. For example, washing your face can strip your skin of the microbiome that is on it. The microbiome does grow back, but there is a period where your microbiome is not as strong as it should be.

Any products that are labeled as anti-bacteria are also very unhealthy for your skin microbiome. These products may be killing the bad bacteria, but they are also killing the good bacteria.

Using exfoliants and some rough brushes on your skin can also disrupt and damage your skin’s microbiome. To avoid doing this, use your hands or a very soft towel without scrubbing.

Any products that use alcohol in them harm your skin’s microbiome. The toxic ingredients in products also harm your microbiome. If you are looking for a list of the 10 top toxic ingredients to avoid in cosmetics, read “Warning: You May be Using Toxic Chemicals Daily“.

What Products Help Your Skin’s Microbiome 

In cosmetics, the study of the skin’s microbiome is a new frontier that chemists and companies are exploring. They are looking into how to use certain ingredients to help and not harm the microbiome. 

What should you look for in skincare products to help your microbiome?

Search for products that have clean and simple ingredients. You do not want anything that is going to remove the natural oils that your skin needs. You also want products that do not have a lot of ingredients. Less us more when it comes to caring for your skin’s microbiome.

You can look for skincare products that use pre-, post-, and pro-biotics. At the moment, there are only a few products that are labeled as such. In the future, companies are hoping to add more to the growing list.

When you are looking for cleansers or toners, you can focus on the pH levels that are in them. For cleansers, look for one that uses a low pH instead of a high pH. That means you want to find something more acidic and less basic. Your skin’s pH is around 5.5. A cleanser that you use should be in this range as well. Typically if the cleanser is milky or creamy, it is a lower pH.

You can also find toners that will balance out your pH levels after using your cleanser. Toners are used after cleanser to recalibrate your skin back to the correct pH level.

Companies Focused on the Skin’s Microbiome 

Some companies are focused on pre-, post-, and pro-biotics in skincare. One of these companies is Mother Dirt. Their focus as a company is on the microbiome. Most of their products use probiotics.

Companies that use clean and natural ingredients are also good for your skin’s microbiome. One company that does this is 100% Pure. They use only non-toxic ingredients that are healthy for your skin. 

As companies continue to learn and create products that will help our skin’s microbiome, we will find more products that create a healthy and sustainable environment for our skin’s defense system, the microbiome.