MICROBIOME BEAUTY
The mindful microbiome The discovery of the skin microbiome discovery is said to be one of the most revolutionary scientific breakthroughs of the past 10 years, offering the cosmetics industry a unique opportunity for smarter products. Essential Specialised Products, a distributor of bespoke cosmetic active ingredients, explores the differences between pre-, pro- and postbiotics and makes a few recommendations regarding effective solutions for microbiome focused formulations.
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he human microbiome consists of a delicate balance of microflora that reside on our skin and in our bodies. If disrupted, skin disorders and inflammation can ensue until the balance is restored between good and harmful bacteria. As our mind and skin are connected, one affects the other. Just as our bodies need supplementation of nutrients, the microbiome requires a little extra care too. Microbiome balance can be promoted by utilising the benefits naturally provided by probiotics. Probiotics are good microorganisms, or microorganism components, which provide health benefits to the host by encouraging the growth of good bacteria. Probiotics is another name for “good bacteria”. Currently, because it is not
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regulated, the term probiotics means different things to different people. In food, probiotics typically mean a live bacteria. However, in cosmetics, because of the need for preservatives for an extended shelf life, there are rarely live bacteria in topical products. Instead, you will typically see “lysates” or “ferments” listed on the ingredients. The ones used in beauty are often either killed by heat or more often ground, which does not mean that they are not effective, but that they function differently from how probiotics act in food.
PREBIOTICS AND POSTBIOTICS IN SKIN CARE It can be challenging to develop skin care products containing live probiotics because
of the storage challenges they present. Alongside the lysates and ferments mentioned previously, other options for promoting a healthy skin microbiome include using prebiotics or postbiotics. Prebiotics are nutrients that can only be used by good bacteria. They are usually special types of sugars or fibres. They are amazing ingredients because they will feed only the good bacteria already on the skin. This means that, not only can they help to lower inflammation and rebuild the skin barrier, but they also grow the good “bugs” and starve the bad ones. They are especially helpful if there is an overgrowth of bad bacteria, such as acne (where C. acnes is the culprit) or eczema (where S. aureus is linked to eczema). It is an innovative way to address these skin diseases.
