Probiotics for skin: What is probiotic skincare?
Your skin is powerful. It’s your first line of defence against external aggressors, which is why you want to keep it performing at its healthy best. Part of doing this is looking after your skin microbiome.
You may have heard about your microbiome relating to your gut health. Your skin is quite similar in that your skin microbiome is made up of good and bad bacteria. To help keep your skin healthy, you can nourish the good bacteria by using prebiotics and probiotics for skin in a microbiome body wash or other microbiome skincare products.
What is the microbiome on your skin?
Firstly, it’s good to understand what the microbiome is. It’s a collection of microorganisms that live inside your body and on your skin. These microorganisms have different functions depending on where they’re found. On your skin, they’re called skin microbiota and they also perform different roles on different parts of your body. The skin microbiome, or skin flora, is made up of bacteria, fungus, mites and viruses. Some are good bacteria, and some are bad, but there’s always a balance that helps your skin stay healthy.
Your skin microbiota is a whole ecosystem that needs to feed and be nourished. Probiotics, prebiotics and postbiotics can help with this. Here’s a little more about each of them.
What are probiotics?
Probiotics contain live microorganisms, like the ones found on your skin or in your gut, that may help to maintain a beneficial gut or skin microbiome balance. This may help all the organisms work in harmony.
What are prebiotics?
As we mentioned earlier, the microorganisms on your skin need to feed. This is where prebiotics could help. They’re like fertiliser for the helpful bacteria on your skin and can help it to grow and flourish.
What are postbiotics?
Postbiotics are essentially the ingredients that the microorganisms on your skin secrete. Even though these are not needed by the microorganisms, they may have skin benefits.
Why is a balanced skin microbiome essential for skin health?
A balanced skin microbiome is important to help keep it healthy. When there’s an imbalance, you might encounter skin problems.
What are good bacteria?
Helpful bacteria on your skin may help to stop the growth of potentially harmful microbes. Some studies have even shown that some skin bacteria work with your immune system to help fight infections.
What are bad bacteria?
Bad skin bacteria may cause inflammation and can, in some cases, may even delay the healing of your skin if you have an existing skin condition, such as Atopic Dermatitis. This is why microbiome skincare is so important.
What affects your skin microbiome?
There are many things that can affect your skin microbiome and throw it off balance, that’s why it’s a good idea to look after it to keep it healthy. Here are some of the things that can affect your skin flora:
- Your genes that have been passed down from your parents
- Your diet and how healthy or unhealthy it is
- Smoking
- The environment
- Air pollution
- Exposure to UV light – like from the sun
How to maintain a healthy skin microbiome
We’ve made it really easy to look after your skin microbiome with our range of Sanex Expert Skin Health shower gels and body washes. They’ve been designed with a prebiotic and postbiotic complex that supports the good bacteria on your skin and targets the bad. It also enhances your skin’s natural barrier and hydration.
How to improve your skin microbiome
Your skin is just as unique as you are. From the moment you’re born, you start forming a skin microbiome, which will grow and change throughout your life. Research is showing that your skin microbiome, which is made up of all kinds of microorganisms, plays an important part in keeping both you and your skin healthy. This is why you should strive for a good skin microbiome balance. Carry on reading to discover more about the skin microbiota, useful bacteria and microbiome skincare.
Having a good skin microbiome balance may help to keep your skin naturally hydrated, smooth and healthy. This is why it makes sense to nourish its helpful bacteria. Here are some handy tips on how to look after the good bacteria:
- Use microbiome skincare products like the ones we’ve formulated
- Keep your skin moisturised
- Eat a healthy, balanced diet
- Drink plenty of water every day
- Don’t overuse antibacterial products and soaps
- Don’t ignore skin conditions – chat to your GP or a healthcare professional about them
Which Sanex products contain prebiotics and postbiotics for skin?
If your looking to nourish your skin microbiome, you might want to try one of the products in our Sanex BiomeProtect range. If you have normal to dry skin, you could try Sanex Expert Skin Health Moisturising Shower Gel. If you suffer from sensitive skin, you might want to try Sanex Expert Skin Health Sensitive Shower Gel that helps to minimise the risk of irritation. And if you’re looking for a little extra soothing you could try Sanex Expert Skin Health + Micellar Soothing with omega 3 for extra nourishment.
