How many times have you checked that “anti-bacterial” label before buying beauty products? Well, almost every single time. It’s like a new fad. But researches in cutaneous care of dermatology show that bacteria are not only vital for maintaining the natural glow of your skin but also ward off many skin diseases. Now, before you drop your jaw or rue over the fact that you have been sold a faulty beauty paradigm all these years, it is important that you understand the biology and chemistry of your skin microflora, which is predominated by probiotics, bearing in mind that somewhere that sanitizer and mask has changed the flora of hands and the masked area of face. Beside using harsh chemicals, bleach on face, online trending or over-the-counter AHA’s/BHA’s, exfoliation, and an incorrect regimen can also lead to change of flora.
But probiotics can come to your rescue.
The good microbes
Probiotics are live micro-organism in your own body or on your skin. But these are good microbes, which we need and have plenty of health benefits. They boost your body’s immune response. There is a renewed interest in the study of health benefits of probiotics. We have known for some time the health benefits of a good and stable gut microbiome. Which is what explains the rise in popularity of probiotic-rich yoghurt and health drinks. But the same understanding is now being experimented with in the beauty industry and there are way too many benefits to ignore this significant development.
Your skin’s natural microbiota is a protective shield against invasion by pathogens that provoke immune reactions. To put it simply, the good bacteria are constantly putting up a fight against the bad ones – the ones that can cause skin irritation, inflammation, acne breakouts and other skin diseases.
There are three main components in your skin microbiota – probiotics, as defined earlier as the good microbes, the prebiotics (the food on which the good microbes feed on) and post biotics (the chemicals released by the microbes). These chemicals, like anti-bacterial peptides, are of immense benefit to us as they eliminate harmful bacteria.
Now, you might also want to know that your entire body skin might not have the same flora. Apart from macro flora, there is micro flora depending on how dry or moist an area of the body is. More importantly, both micro and macro flora of the body are disturbed by environmental stressors. There is enough evidence to show that the cause of many skin diseases is a depleted skin microbial diversity due to environmental causes, although genetic factors could also account for it. Research shows that diminished cutaneous microbes is seen in over 90 per cent of individuals with eczema in contrast to only 5 per cent of unaffected individuals. Living in concrete jungles, braving traffic jams amid winter and pollution, rapid urbanisation, climate change and complete disconnect with nature has a direct impact on our skin’s micro and macroflora. And it is the good bacteria that’s being killed in thousands, maybe lakhs, if one is a smoker either active or passive.
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Ill-effects and the way out
Altering lifestyle choices can only help you so much because living in an urban setting has its own set of challenges as much for you as for your skin. So, opting for probiotic rich skin products could be a wise choice to make because they act as an anti-inflammatory, generally and also internally in diet. Yogurt in diet has to be added too for best results.
Use of probiotics in natural form or its cosmetic use fortifies the skin against the impact of environmental stressors, such as free radicals, UV radiation, excessive screen time, etc.
Apart from environmental stressors, what might be causing irreparable damage to your skin is over-sanitization. I have seen my clients suffer year-long dandruff problem, despite using anti-dandruff shampoos and from sensitive skin syndrome before the pandemic had begun. One of the reasons for these ailments lies in our obsession with washing and cleaning our scalp and facial skin more frequently than required. Over-washing, shampooing, and exfoliation causes yeast disbalance, which in turn causes pH disbalance. Harsh chemicals in your makeup can also kill good bacteria.
Several skin conditions like rosacea and sensitive skin syndrome, early greying of hair all have pH imbalance in common.
Skin conditions like psoriasis, acne vulgaris, rosacea, atopic dermatitis, and telangiectasias or broken capillaries and blood vessels, and signs of ageing can be countered by eating probiotic rich curd and applying it topically too. I always recommend my clients, especially older women dealing with skin damage problems to both eat and apply curd. With the pandemic stretching, I extended this recommendation to all and one.
Cosmetic use of probiotics is a new phenomenon. Most of the probiotic technology in skincare is obtained from bacteria cultures commonly used to prepare yoghurt. Newer probiotics and prebiotics skin products are being launched to not only enhance the skin’s natural immune response but also as a treatment for several skin diseases. One of the ways of enhancing the effects of probiotics is to apply prebiotics, to ensure the right kind of food for the right kind of skin flora. Probiotic rich products help to strengthen skin barrier, optimise the skin’s ability to remodel collagen and elastin and reduce inflammation, which limits flare-ups and has anti-ageing properties. They stimulate skin’s repair and renewal capacities and keep the skin optimally hydrated maintaining cutaneous homeostatis. What’s more? Probiotics can be used for all skin types and helps in strengthening skin barrier and restoring skin microbiome generally.
What one should avoid is use of over-the-counter products without consulting an expert. Your skin’s microflora might be different from another’s. Even within your own body, the microbial diversity would differ and so will the prescription. But what you can do, to begin with, is watch out the next time you slather that anti-bacterial face wash five times a day. You might be killing off your skin’s best friend. Try to find natural kitchen remedies suited to your skin to aid best skin health and balanced bacterial flora surely.
Dr Deepali Bhardwaj is a dermatologist, anti-allergy specialist, laser surgeon and internationally trained aesthetician. She tweets @dermatdoc. Views are personal.
(Edited by Anurag Chaubey)