What Is The Skin Microbiome And How It Affects Your Beauty

In recent years, microbiome research has attracted particular interest from the general public, because it is they that form the basis of the formulas of most anti-aging products and provide the amazing speed of development of the modern beauty industry. But experts still have a lot to learn about this amazing world that inhabits our skin. So what exactly is the microbiome and how important is it to appearance? These and other issues were sorted out together with Valeria Khokhlova, Lancôme care expert.

Understanding the terminology

The microbiome is a living ecosystem of all bacteria that inhabit the surface of human skin. If you put them together and try to weigh them, then the average figure will be about 1.5 kg. Moreover, the variety of bacteria depends on the lifestyle of a person, his age, geographic characteristics and the ecology of the place of residence.

How it works?

The microbiome plays a critical role in maintaining skin immunity. When it is in order and balance, the skin is evenly hydrated, does not suffer from frequent breakouts, and boasts an even tone, density and softness. This condition is characteristic of healthy young skin, which can be supported with the help of competent care that takes into account the individual characteristics of your microbiome.

How do you know if your microbiome is weakened?

With the weakening of the body's defense reaction on the surface of the skin, the activity of "bad" bacteria increases, which increases the risk of developing diseases such as acne and rosacea. In parallel with this, there is a more active aging of the skin, since with a decrease in immunity, it loses its ability to regenerate itself. The visible signs of a microbiome disorder are inflammation, dehydration, dull skin tone and increased skin sensitivity (see also: “How to Care for Sensitive Facial Skin”).

The microbiome can become less diverse and less protective as a result of aggressive cleansing, prolonged exposure to the sun without UV protection, stress, unbalanced diet and poor environmental conditions.

How can you strengthen your microbiome?

The first and most important step, if you decide to take seriously the restoration of the skin microbiome, is to consult a dermatologist and identify the factors that led to the weakening of the dermis protection. When the body needs intensive recovery, experts usually recommend care with pre- and probiotics, as well as a care system specially selected for a specific case: after stress, sun, antibiotics (read also: "Beauty capsules: 4 probiotics for problem skin").

Applying probiotics externally as part of care products, you can compensate for the deficiency of microflora and help it suppress the activity of pathogenic, that is, "bad" microorganisms (probiotics can also be taken orally). After the course of treatment, you will notice an improvement in the visible signs of healthy and youthful skin: radiance, firmness, smoothness and elasticity will return to it with renewed vigor.

When taking care of the skin microbiome, it is important to consider the following rules:

Taking care of your diet: minimizing simple carbohydrates and sugars, eating fiber and fermented foods (eg Greek yogurt, sauerkraut, etc.);
Minimizing stress: meditation, breathing control (pay attention to the popular mobile apps now), physical activity and just hugging your loved ones.
In addition to including pre- and probiotic products in skin care, you should also take care of protecting your skin from the sun's rays. To do this, we additionally use Sanskrin SPF 15 (the higher the better).