Skin is the body’s largest organ. Many people don’t realize skin is an organ or that is hard at work keeping our bodies healthy. The function of other organs like the heart and lungs is more obvious, but skin is also an essential organ that keeps us looking and feeling our best. The skin microbiome is an integral component to ensure skin is healthy and functions properly within the body. In this blog, you can learn more about the microbiome and why pre, pro, and postbiotic products for microbiome skincare are important to maintaining microbiome and skin health as well as boosting overall wellbeing.

What Is the Skin Microbiome?

Under basic observation, the skin looks like a smooth, solid surface. You may see wrinkles, cracks, or indentations in the skin, but unless you have an injury, there aren’t likely to be any visible gaps. Up close the skin looks much different. It’s made up of numerous individual cells, fibers, proteins, and microorganisms like fungi, bacteria, and viruses. When they all live and work together harmoniously, the skin has a healthy microbiome. When the microbiome is out of balance, microscopic gaps develop that allow unhealthy pathogens to enter the body, leading to infection, allergic response, inflammation, scarring, and other concerns. These reactions typically begin on the skin, but they can penetrate deeper leading to more serious whole-body health concerns.

Importance of a Healthy Skin Microbiome

A balanced skin microbiome is very important. It ensures skin is protected from allergens and environmental irritants. A healthy microbiome also supports the management of chronic skin conditions like eczema and acne by limiting skin’s exposure to triggers in the that stimulate flareups. Additionally, the skin microbiome is largely responsible for ensuring skin stays hydrated. Gaps in skin’s surface allow moisture to escape, leading to dry, itchy skin. A healthy microbiome closes gaps between skin cells and improves moisture retention.

Most adults will have a healthy, stable skin microbiome. However, when the microbiome is damaged or isn’t functioning properly, people are at greater risk for:

• • Skin infections.
• • Whole-body infections.
• • Flareups in chronic skin conditions.
• • Increased inflammation.
• • Flareups in inflammatory skin and whole-body diseases.
• • Whole-body health issues due to poor immune function.
• • Skin cancer.
• • Poor or slow wound healing.

Benefits of Maintaining a Healthy Skin Microbiome

When we take the time to care for and maintain a healthy microbiome, our skin and whole-body experience numerous benefits, including:

• • Improved skin barrier function – that prevents the introduction of harmful pathogens to the skin or body and maintains hydration. It also alleviates skin sensitivity and reduces the number and severity of flareups in chronic skin conditions.
• • Enhanced hydration – it’s easier to keep skin hydrated when the barrier layer of skin is complete and undamaged. A healthy microbiome ensure skin is able to retain moisture levels. The healthy microbiome also protects skin cells from unnecessary environmental stresses that reduce the production of healthy natural substances like hyaluronic acid that help the skin attract and retain moisture.
• • Reduced skin inflammation and irritation – when pathogens access the deeper layers of skin due to a damaged or poorly functioning skin microbiome, they can trigger skin inflammation and irritation. This can lead to increased risk for inflammation in other parts of the body, especially for those with immune system dysfunction.
• • Protected from environmental stressors – damage from the sun, pollutants, and other stressors in the environment has a profound effect on the health and appearance of skin. These forms of damage lead to health issues like skin cancer, infection, and scarring. They can also cause short and long-term damage to the appearance of skin, including sunburns, fine lines, wrinkles, dark spots, and uneven skin tone or texture. A healthy microbiome diminishes the risk for damage from external sources.

Tips for Improving and Maintaining a Healthy Skin Microbiome

Your skin microbiome should be a skincare priority, so how can you achieve and maintain a healthy skin microbiome? When considering how to improve the skin microbiome, there are three main factors:

• • Healthy lifestyle – this means eating nutrient-rich foods, drinking plenty of water, exercising, getting enough sleep, and managing stress.
• • Simple, consistent skincare – it’s important to develop a gentle skincare routine and stick with it every day. At the very least, you should use a gentle cleanser twice a day, moisturize skin twice a day, and apply sunscreen in the morning and periodically reapply to protect skin from sun damage.
• • Choosing the right products – while a consistent skincare routine is half the battle, finding the right products to meet your needs is very important to maintain microbiome health. Gentle products with few ingredients are usually best. Whenever possible, dermatologists also recommend including pre, pro, and postbiotic ingredients in your skincare routine.

Role of Prebiotic, Probiotic, and Postbiotic Skincare Products

The skin microbiome is a complex ecosystem that includes beneficial bacteria, fungi, and viruses that ward off environmental aggressors, balance pH, and prevent unhealthy pathogens from entering the body.

• • Prebiotics – feed good microorganisms on skin to support the microbiome and protect against unhealthy pathogens.
• • Probiotics – introduce new, healthy microorganisms to skin to repair and restore the microbiome.
• • Postbiotics – these are the reasons we need pre and probiotics. Postbiotics are the healthy biproducts and proteins produced by the microorganisms that improve skin health.

Incorporate Prebiotic, Probiotic, and Postbiotic Skincare Products

Pre, pro, and postbiotics are essential to support a healthy microbiome. If you’re looking for a simple way to introduce these pre, pro, and postbiotics to your skincare routine, the Revision Skincare DEJ line is a great starting point. Specifically, their eye and face creams make an excellent addition to the morning and evening skincare routines. You can incorporate the eye cream morning and night, and there are two uniquely formulated moisturizers for the morning and evening. Learn more by visiting the individual product pages below:

• • Revision Skincare DEJ Face Cream
• • Revision Skincare DEJ Eye Cream
• • Revision Skincare DEJ Night Face Cream

Explore DermSkincare for More Skin Health Tips

If you’re interested in boosting your skincare routine, explore more of the dermatologist-recommended products available at DermSkincare. You can also come back regularly to our blog to get more skincare tips and tricks to achieve and maintain healthier skin. Not sure where to begin? Talk to a dermatologist about skincare products to meet your unique needs and achieve your skincare goals.