What To Know About Your Skin's Microbiome

If there's one thing increasingly trending in the beauty world year after year, it's science. It seems like more people are interested in knowing the ingredients and the exact science behind their skincare products, as well as their overall routines. This interest in the science and details of skincare lets people be more involved in their routines. With this interest, more skincare trends are leaning towards taking advantage of the little details that make up your skin's health. One of the latest beauty trends to come out of this is the emphasis on the skin's microbiome. The concept of the microbiome is usually referenced when discussing your gut. In fact, digestive disease researcher and dietician Dr. Gail Cresci explains to the Cleveland Clinic, "It contains all the microbes that reside within our intestinal tract. And those microbes are comprised of bacteria, fungi, yeast, and viruses."

While it might be similar to your gut, considering the skin's microbiomes when looking at your skincare could come with a few changes. The key when looking into your skin's microbiomes is researching the different ins and outs of the microbes and knowing how to create healthy skin out of them.

Before you start working with your skin's microbiome, you need to know what this term means. Jennifer Rock, the founder of Skingredients,  explains to Glamour, "Our skin is an organ and living on the surface of our skin is an entire ecosystem of microorganisms — which are collectively known as our skin's microbiome. The microbes inhabiting our skin, such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi, are key to maintaining skin health by reinforcing skin barrier function, which keeps harmful aggressors out and helps to reduce inflammation within the skin." Like your gut's microbiome, your skin's microbiome is this collection of bacteria that lives on your skin and works together to act as a barrier to outside triggers.

Science Focus explains that skincare comes into the conversation because of the harsh ingredients that are found in skincare products. These ingredients can disrupt the skin's microbiome and affect healthy bacteria. If this healthy bacteria is compromised, it can no longer do its job of protecting the skin from harmful bacteria. An example of this is how in the skin of those with eczema, you will find an abundance of harmful bacteria that contributes to the inflammation and redness you see on the skin.

Now that you know your skin's microbiome can contribute to your skin's health, there are steps you can take to help contribute to the health of this ecosystem. Premium Beauty News explains that before adding supplements to help your skin's microbiome, you want to first examine your skin and get to know your microbiome. Before trying to fix an unbalanced microbiome, you want to ensure that it is unbalanced in the first place. You can do this by looking at your diet, lifestyle, and current skincare products to see if anything would affect the healthy bacteria in your skin. Once you've established that you will need to add some healthier bacteria to help your skin, you can start to implement skincare or supplements to add some extra support.

Ipsy adds that if you want to strengthen healthy bacteria, you need to add prebiotic and postbiotic products to your skincare routine. In fact, dermatologist Dr. Ife Rodney explains, "Prebiotics and postbiotics act similar to the oral supplements in balancing the bacteria on your skin. Probiotics are live bacteria that impact your skin microflora. Prebiotics and postbiotics help the existing bacteria." Skincare products that include prebiotic and postbiotic-friendly ingredients will help make these healthy bacteria stronger and, in turn, fortify their work in protecting your skin.