The skin microbiome is the complex ecosystem of microbes which live on the skin. Advances in technology reveal that there are over a trillion bacteria living on your skin, most of which are in fact beneficial and play an important role in the health, wellbeing, and protection of the human body. These beneficial microbes play a critical role in skin health by:
- Improving skin barrier
- Reducing trans-epidermal water loss
- Promoting immunity against infection
Our skin microbes are very active in producing antimicrobial agents that help keep us healthy and, in some instances, can even direct immune responses to fight infection. It has been widely documented that the microbial populations on your skin can play a significant role in your skin health, even influencing many skin diseases such as acne, eczema, and psoriasis.
To help prevent such skin conditions from developing, it is advisable to use products that minimise disruption of the skin microbiome . For example, chemicals and products that are not pH balanced effect the skin microbiome negatively.
Soap and harsh cleaning agents strip the microbiome and can make way for pathogenic microbes to invade. You can provide the skin with optimum conditions for good microbes to live and even feed them (with prebiotics) or apply good microbes to the skin (probiotics).
Microbiome friendly products are important to keep the natural balance of microbes on the skin, keeping the entire microbiome system in a happy, symbiotic state.
Pure Beginnings has incorporated a number of beneficial ingredients and formulation principles into our products to ensure they work to support the skin microbiome.
These include Prebiotics such as Inulin, Baobab Fruit extract and alpha-glucan oligosaccharide to feed the good microbes to ensure they thrive, as well as Probiotics (Lactobacillus Ferment) which contributes to shifting the microbiome to improve the colonisation of beneficial microbes.
This improves the skin barrier and protects the skin against harmful microorganisms by assisting in competitive exclusion of pathogenic bacteria as well as the development of T-junctions. Our products are also ph-balanced, a very overlooked, but extremely important part of ensuing the skin microbiome is healthy.
We exclude harsh surfactants and soap which can “wash away” your skin’s microbes and create a state of microbial imbalance. We also use only plant oils for nourishment which are naturally occurring oils that microbes recognise and can thrive in.
Chemically laden products and ingredients that microbes have not evolved with create disruption in the microbiome.
In a number of our products we are using active therapeutics for treating specific conditions such as the inclusion of a specific pre and probiotic complex in our Sensitive Deodorant to help naturally shift the metabolism of odour causing bacteria on the skin in the armpit area.
The pre and probiotic technology in our Sensitive Baby range is highly beneficial to babies that are prone to skin conditions such as sensitive skin and eczema.
The prebiotics in our adult care range are used to nourishes healthy skin microflora to help restore balance and to protect against harmful microorganisms and assist in treating breakout prone skin.
We continue to work with microbiome technology to bring the latest science in skincare into our products.
Blog Disclaimer
The purpose of the Pure Beginnings blog is to educate and provide awareness of our products, ingredients and a more natural and healthier lifestyle. Although every effort is made to provide information that is true, factually correct and beneficial to our customers and followers, the content on the blog is not a substitute for professional medical or healthcare advice, diagnosis, treatment, dietary, or safety advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified experts with any questions you may have regarding a medical question, condition, or safety concern. Reliance on information presented on this blog is at your own risk.