DIRT Y TALK
Once considered skin’s worst enemy, bacteria has proven to be a healthy complexion’s best friend. April Long explores the pros of probiotics
Until very recently, the fact that dense colonies of microorganisms live all over our bodies – on everything from our hair and our fingernails to our eyeballs – wouldn’t have been a thought many of us would want to linger on. Now, however, in our kombucha- and kimchi-crazed era, when “faecal transplants” have become acceptable dinner-party conversation and rafts of research have proven the connection between bacterial imbalances in the gut and a host (so to speak) of health issues ranging from weight fluctuations to mood swings, we’re increasingly likely to find ourselves gazing into a mirror thinking, “I wonder how my biome is doing today?”
While several studies suggest a strong relationship between salubrious intestinal microflora and a healthy complexion – in one of the most recent, published in the Journal Of Microbiology And Biotechnology last October, middle-aged adults showed improved skin hydration and elasticity and reduced wrinkles after taking a daily clinical dosage of the oral probiotic supplement lactobacillus plantarum for 12 weeks – it’s not just about what we eat: what’s happening directly on the surface of our skin matters, too.
“Scientists are just starting to discern what constitutes a normal, healthy skin microbiome,” says Alan Logan, an independent researcher and the co-author of Your Brain On
Nature. “It is clear, however, that the microbes residing on healthy skin make important contributions to the proper maintenance of the barrier to the outside world. They also interact with the immune system and protect against harmful bacteria.”
It’s now believed that the ratio of microbial cells to human cells is 1.3 to one (or 39 trillion bacteria to 30 trillion human cells), meaning these microscopic hangers-on outnumber the very cells that make up the building blocks of our bodies. Dwelling on our skin alone, each of us has a unique combination, like a fingerprint, of hundreds of different tonguetwistingly named species.
In the past few years, dermatologists have started to recognise that a number of vexing complexion problems, including acne, rosacea and eczema, are affected by the equilibrium of this epidermal ecosystem – and beauty companies are now introducing products that, instead of merely stripping away the bad bacteria known to cause inflammation and breakouts, actually purport to work by enhancing beneficial microbial
diversity on the skin. Clinique’s Redness Solutions foundation, for example, features lactobacillus, which has ph-balancing properties and works to reduce flushing. Nude skincare is built around probiotics said to optimise microflora on the skin, and Elizabeth Arden’s Superstart Skin Renewal Booster contains a probiotic blend believed to boost the skin’s natural defences.
In terms of food, we tend to think of probiotics as delicate living cultures that need to be kept cool, but many of the probiotics found in skincare are ferments or extracts rather than the bacteria itself – “quite different,” says dermatologist Dr Doris Day, from what you’ll find in your morning yoghurt (though that can work, too; many derms and facialists extol the softening, clarifying benefits of a 10-minute DIY Chobani face mask).
“Live strains are put through fermentation, which then releases secondary molecules that are collectively known as probiotic derived bioactives,” Day explains. “It’s these molecules that have been through the clinical testing to prove they mimic the action of live bacteria, in a more controlled environment, all while being stable.” Among their potential skin benefits: “The first is that they can strengthen the skin’s immune system to better defend against environmental stressors, which can exponentially speed up the ageing process. The second, and possibly more profound, benefit is their ability to stimulate a repair response in the skin, without injury, irritation or inflammation.”
Another pro-probiotic argument is that by adding some “good” microbes to our daily regimens, we might re-establish the optimum status quo – just as many doctors recommend we take prebiotics and probiotics to rebuild our gut flora after a course of antibiotics, we can also use beauty products containing beneficial strains to replenish the friendly, naturally balancing bacteria that get washed away or disrupted by cleansers or creams.
A buzzy proponent of this strategy is biotech company Aobiome, which launched the Mother Dirt AO+ Mist, along with a cleanser and a shampoo, in mid-2015. The star ingredients of these products are live ammonia-oxidising bacteria (AOB) that naturally occur in the human biome but are particularly susceptible to detergents and other hygiene products. Re-establishing proper levels of AOB on the skin can help prevent infection, reduce body odour and optimise cellular function, claim the founders – including Jamie Heywood, recently named one of Scientific American’s top 100 biotech visionaries. (In contrast to what your anti-soap hippie friend says about her no-to-deo stance, it’s unlikely that anyone’s body, no matter how in balance it may be, can self-regulate and stay stink-free without a little help – hence the presence of the cleanser and shampoo in the line.)
While the research on exactly which microbial species are best for skin is still in its infancy – and indeed, the efficacy of probiotics in skincare products is only starting to be rigorously tested – the science so far is encouraging: a 2010 study showed a decrease in sensitivity and a strengthening of the skin’s barrier after the use of a topical cream containing bifidobacterium longum over two months, and a 2014 study found topical treatment with lactobacillus considerably decreased atopic dermatitis in children. There’s even evidence topical probiotics take a heroic stance against villainous P. acnes bacteria by poking holes in the zit culprits, thereby disabling them; it’s been further proven that certain probiotics stop cells from reacting to bad bacteria on the skin’s surface, reducing inflammation and breakouts.
“The future is very bright for the development of microbial-based products that can effectively target the skin from the inside and out,” Logan says. What skincare’s “new frontier”, as he puts it, lacks in glamour, it may very well make up for in punch. And when something works, who cares if you can’t pronounce it.