Many people will want to know – what is the skin microbiome, as it’s a really important part of keeping skin healthy. The skin microbiome is all the things that live on your skin, the things you can’t even see, but that you really need. Your skin is your biggest organ, and plays an absolutely vital role in protecting your body, and it is covered in invisible bacteria, micro-organisms and fungi. It isn’t gross, it’s just natural and we love natural!
The job of the skin microbiome
It has a really important job, it cares for your skin by fighting off infection – your skin is naturally slightly acidic, and this is a first line of defense. The pH of your skin is actually between 4.5 and 5.5 but this may alter depending on lots of factors like diet, what you use on your skin, and where you live. This acidic value is important in keeping your skin healthy.
Your microbiome is also really clever at alerting your immune system if a problem, like a virus or bad bacteria, are coming along.
It is also helps to reduce inflammation and heal wounds; pretty important then, I think you wil agree.
Because of these important roles the skin microbiome plays in our skin health and overall body health, it is absoultey essential that we keep our microbiome at roughly the right level. If it gets disrupted, it can’t do all the important jobs listed above properly.
How to keep your skin microbiome healthy
I think it’s pretty obvious that the most dangerous thing to do to our microbiome is to destroy it by over-cleaning the skin, or by using lots of sanitising products. In the same way that we really need good bacteria in our tummies, we also really need the good bacteria on our skin. Using skincare products that dry out the skin or kill all the bacteria is bad. You will have seen this happening during the height of the pandemic, most of us were using tons of hand sanitisers regularly and most of us had extremely dry and sore hands as a result.
Using natural, plant based products is one of the best ways to keep your skin microbiome healthy, as genuinely natural skincare, made without synthetics, harsh preservatives or alcohol, will work in harmony with your skin, and not disrupt the microbiome. Not over-washing is really important too. Using a little moisturiser is good idea to keep the skin hydrated.
If you are looking for a natural moisturiser then you’ll probably like my Very Sensitive Organic Moisturiser, it suits all skin types, even very sensitive, as its name suggests.
What to do if you Microbiome is all wrong
The things that affect your microbiome are:
- diet – eat more veg and plenty of fibre, and consider a great probiotic supplement
- smoking – just don’t, it’s bad for you in every single way
- where you live – this one is hard to change, but high levels of pollution can affect your skin, so think of ways to protect your skin from pollution.
- UV light – protect yourself from UV light using a good, but natural, SPF
Eczema and Skin Microbiome
It’s pretty safe to say that if you have eczema, your skin microbiome is out of whack. Eczema begins when your weakened skin barrier lets moisture leak out. Your skin needs the right balance of good bacteria and fungi etc. in place on the skin to protect you (research from The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology has shown that eczema patients with less microbiome diversity have more severe symptoms). People with eczema have more Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) bacteria on their skin, a naughty bacteria, that causes redness, inflammation, and infection. So it makes sense that nourishing the microbiome and ensuring balance, may help to reduce eczema symptoms. I found this article which you might want to have a look at: www.healthline.com/health/eczema/how-does-the-gut-skin-axis-affect-eczema
Hope this is helpful, it’s just a brief cover on the very large topic, but now you know the basics, you can do some more research. Please feel free to send me an additional information that might make this blog more informative. I always love feedback and contribution.
