But constant use of harsh facial cleansers and antibacterial soaps strip your skin of these healthy bacteria or the 'good bugs' — consequently damaging your skin's natural bacterial ecosystem. This, in turn, makes your skin stressed and dry, causing skin issues like breakouts, eczema, rosacea flares and psoriasis.
Just as the “good” bacteria improve our gut health, probiotics help the microbiome of the skin in the same way. The skin’s unique ecosystem (aka the microbiome) must remain healthy as it’s essential for controlling nearly every function of the skin. If your skin is too oily or too dry, this is a sign that your microbiome may not be healthy. If you are breaking out or having a flare-up, this, too, is indicative that your microbiome is not functioning optimally.
So, what can you do to build back your skin's natural defenses and healthy function? Enter probiotics, which is 1 of the 5 Food-Based Skincare Trends for 2019
Probiotics include various strains of uniquely helpful bacteria that occur naturally on skin and that can be applied via probiotic skincare products. Probiotics work with prebiotics, carbohydrates that serve as a food source so the probiotics can optimally do their job of protecting and nurturing your skin.
One of the most popular ingredients in anti-aging skin care, dating all the way back to the times of Cleopatra, is lactic acid. Part of the Lactobacillus family, it's one of the three most popular strains found in skincare (the other two being Bifidabacterium and Vitreoscilla). Well-known for locking in moisture and smoothing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, it's no wonder it's a staple in many products.
Would Probiotic Skincare Work?
Yes, if:
- You Have Sensitive Skin:
Probiotics have the rather clever ability to rebuild and strengthen the skin's barrier. Sensitive skin may take a while to repair itself after damage but incorporating probiotics into your skincare regime helps speed up the process.
- You're A City Dweller
Free radicals such as pollution have the ability to accelerate ageing and to zap the skin of it's youthful radiance, but when applied topically, probiotics can boost the skin's natural defence.
Probiotics calm the natural immune triggers in your skin which can be overstimulated by pollution and stress and they reduce the damage these immune triggers cause to collagen, elastin and healthy cells.
- You are Acne-Prone
Using probiotics topically creates an optimal environment for the good bugs, swinging the balance in your favor against zit-causing bacteria — the primary culprit being Propionibacterium acnes.
How Probiotics Work on Skin?
Skin’s surface is a multifaceted environment, almost like a city of living things populating and working in every part of it. Even though the top layers of skin are dead, there’s an abundant population of microflora thriving there, affecting skin’s appearance, youthful or otherwise, every day. This is skin’s microbiome, and keeping it in balance is among the more fascinating parts of how probiotics for skin work.
What do we mean by “balance?" Some of the microflora on skin are helpful, some are (or can become) harmful. The good guys are often referred to as “resident bacteria,” while the bad guys are “transient bacteria”; however, although they’re transient, the problems they cause can linger and not go away. Ironically, when skin’s microbiome is out of balance, the good microflora can become bad, leading to issues like acne and red, sensitive skin.
Keeping the microflora of skin balanced can:
- Strengthen skin’s surface against environmental threats.
- Enhance skin’s ability to become—and stay—properly hydrated.
- Diminish factors that trigger sensitized, reddened skin.
- Visibly improve signs of dryness, including a tight, uncomfortable feeling.
- Restore a healthy pH balance to skin’s surface.
What’s even more fascinating is that probiotics and their derivatives, known as lysates, work beautifully with other skincare ingredients. And get this: As the probiotics break down on skin’s surface, they create brilliant new ingredients for skin, such as hyaluronic acid, peptides, and vitamins, as well as increasing the presence of ceramides. This in turn leads to diminished signs of aging, better hydration, and a radiance that’s visible proof of skin’s renewed vitality.
When buying a probiotics-packed beauty product, look for ingredients like Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Vitreoscilla and prebiotic sugars like xylitol. Also, keep in mind that probiotic skin care products are quite delicate. Most of them have a six month expiration date after opening and need to be stored in a cool environment, some even in the fridge. So, read the packaging instructions carefully.
Probiotics in skincare products demand careful formulation due to their inherent instability; they’re very fragile and deteriorate easily. This means no jar packaging (light and air cause them to break down faster) and buying products only from brands that have a good understanding of how probiotics work. Knowing which formulary techniques are necessary is essential to getting the best possible results when using probiotics on skin.
Product Recommendation :
The Beauty Chef's Hydration Inner Beauty Boost - Probiotic Skincare Supplement
LaFlore's Natural Organic Probiotic 3-Step Kit
TULA Skincare Probiotic Skincare Discovery Kit
Andalou Apricot Probiotic Cleansing Milk ( Amazon Popular Choice )
Mother Dirt's AO+ Mist ( Amazon Popular Choice ) - Great for oily skin
Biossance's Squalane + Probiotic Gel Moisturizer - hydrates and treats
Glowbiotics MD Probiotic Hydraglow Anti-Aging Hydrator Cream Oil ( Amazon Popular Choice ) - Great for sensitive skin
Glowbiotics MD Probiotic Brightening Daily Essentials with Tinted Sunscreen SPF 30
Glowbiotics MD SPF 30 Tinted Broad Spectrum UVA/UVB Sunscreen
Eminence Organics Clear Skin Probiotic Masque - prevent acne and regulate oil production
LALICIOUS Brown Sugar Vanilla Shower Oil and Bubble Bath - Shower Cleanser with Topical Probiotics and Grapeseed Oil
If you want a guide for reading labels when it comes to microbiome skincare, look for the following strains in probiotic skincare.
Acne/Rosacea
Nitrosomonas Eutropha
Lactobacillus Plantarum
Streptococcus Salivarium
Lactobacillus paracasei
Pigmentation/Wrinkles
Nitrosomonas Eutropha
Atopic dermatitis/dry/sensitive
Streptococcus Thermophilus
Staphylococcus Species
Roseomonas Mucosa
Terminology
Microbiome: Microbes that live in a particular environment or biome.
Microbiota: The collection of living microbes that live in or on an environment. This term includes the microorganisms only and not the characteristics of their environment.
Prebiotics: A nondigestible food ingredient that promotes the growth of microorganisms in the intestines. These can promote the growth of beneficial or harmful microorganisms. Think of them as a type of “fertilizer” for the microbiome.
Probiotics: Living microorganisms that can provide beneficial qualities when used orally or topically. What probiotics are not? Microbes naturally found in your body and on your skin; microbes that are no longer alive; fermented foods that contain an unknown amount of bacteria.
Source : Forbes, Womansworld, PaulaChoice, SMH
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