What is microbiome skin care?

Do your skin care products do anything to help in the fight against bad bacteria and spots? Here we reveal how to build a microbiome-friendly skin care routine and help healthy skin flora to flourish.

What is the skin microbiome?

Human skin is a host to all sorts of microorganisms. Easily accessible and rich in lubricating oils, it’s a feeding and breeding ground for good and bad forms of bacteria and fungi. This balance of beneficial and harmful microorganism makes up your skin’s microbiome and should the bad bacteria outnumber the good, the microbiome will be imbalanced.

If the skin’s microbiome is imbalanced, the skin could be more vulnerable to the negative side effects of bad bacteria. This could include breakouts and bad body odours.

Researchers believe that an imbalanced microbiome could negatively impact the skin barrier’s ability to keep harmful bacteria out. It has also been a factor linked to contributing to chronic skin conditions like psoriasis[i], although further research is needed to determine the exact influence that the skin’s microbiome and immune system has on psoriasis.

What can cause a microbiome imbalance?

There are lots of lifestyle factors that can imbalance your skin’s microbiome. A diet rich in greasy food may attract acne-causing bacteria to the skin and a hot climate can help body-odourising bacteria to multiply faster under the armpits.

The strength of your skin barrier and immune system also plays a part in keeping bad bacteria suppressed and help good skin flora to flourish.

How to support a healthy skin microbiome with prebiotics

Prebiotics are one of the best ways to support a healthy skin microbiome.

Prebiotic technology is often added to skin care and helps to cultivate a culture of good bacteria on the skin.

Benefits of microbiome-friendly prebiotic moisturisers include nurturing the skin barrier and boosting the skin’s supply of beneficial microbes. This may inhibit the growth of the bad bacteria which cause body odour and is why we use prebiotics in all of our natural roll-on deodorants.

Shop microbiome-friendly skin care

Our microbiome-friendly skin care products with prebiotics suit all skin types and are an easy way to support the skin barrier every day.

• Deodorants with prebiotics
• Day cream with prebiotics

The best microbiome-friendly moisturiser for spot-prone skin

One of the skin types that will benefit most for prebiotic products is acne-prone skin. For this skin type we recommend using Day Solution. This prebiotic-enriched day cream blends potent prebiotics with spot-fighting actives and leaves complexions calm, clear and balanced.

DAY SOLUTION

• Prebiotics (Alpha-glucan oligosaccharides) help balance the skin's natural flora
• Willow Bark extract reduces irritation and inflammation and has a powerful action against acne
• Pineapple extract unblocks pores for a clearer, smoother complexion
• Rose Geranium leaves skin feeling fresh and clean whilst balancing sebum production

Day Solution Moisturiser 50ml

A light, skin-balancing day cream with anti-blemish properties

£24.00

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More ways to support the microbiome

Keeping the skin barrier strong will further help the skin to build a good defence against bad bacteria and the stronger your skin barrier is, the more effective it will be at keeping harmful pathogens from entering the skin microbiome.

CLEANSE CAREFULLY

Cleanse the skin a maximum of twice daily. After cleansing, layer your skin care products lightly and resist the urge to overburden the skin by using many products at one.

Over-cleansing and using cleansers made with skin-stripping ingredients like SLS and skin-drying alcohols can disturb the fragile balance of the microbiome.

Using too many beauty products can also affect the natural pH of your skin and upset the natural flora of the skin.

THE BEST DIET FOR A HEALTHY SKIN BARRIER

A healthy diet is the best way to support your skin’s immunity but you can give your body a helping hand with a skin-balancing supplement such as our Green Beauty with Astaxanthin capsules.

Astaxanthin delivers a powerful rejuvenating action to support your skin cells and our Green Beauty supplement can be taken with water or dispensed into a breakfast smoothie.

Try to limit your intake of greasy food as this is known to attract acne bacteria to the microbiome.

Age Defy+ Green Beauty With Astaxanthin 60 Caps

Fight wrinkles and improve skin elasticity from within

£38.00 £30.40

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REPAIR WEAR AND TEAR

If your skin barrier is weakened, bad bacteria have more opportunity to enter the microbiome.

Damaged skin repairs itself overnight and you can help this process along by using skin care packed with skin-rejuvenating actives.

Rejuvenating Evening Primrose deeply penetrates to support the skin’s structure and is a key active in our Vita Min Fix moisturiser which nourishes the skin whilst you sleep with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants from Seaweed and Avocado. For best results, combine with the Fruitful Nights Night Cream which features tissue-regenerating Rosehip and leaves skin fresh and balanced.

Vita Min Fix 24-Hour Cream 50ml

A 24-hour anti-ageing moisturiser to boost skin hydration and reduce wrinkles

£24.00

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Fruitful Nights Night Cream 50ml

Wake to radiant skin when you snuggle up with this balancing sleep cream

£24.00

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Do you need help picking out the best microbiome skin care products? Our UK customer care team are available to help and can be contacted on 01403 740350.

[i] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5754965/

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