Products that contribute to a healthy microbiome are fueling the beauty business. The microbiome may be making headlines right now, but the first reference about microorganisms was way back in 1877 when French Chemist Louis Pasteur observed, “Microorganisms are necessary for a normal human life.”

In 2000, Nobel Prize winner Joshua Lederberg defined “microbiome” as “an ecological community of commensal, symbiotic and perhaps pathogenic microorganisms that inhabit the human body, determining health and disease.”

A healthy microbiota is bio-diverse. When unbalanced, it cultivates a variety of skin conditions such as acne, atopic skin, rosacea, dermatitis, psoriasis and more. The skin microbiome helps protect against infection, aids in wound healing, limits exposure to allergens and UV radiation, minimizes oxidative damage, and helps keep the skin barrier intact and well hydrated.

The beauty industry has taken notice.  For example, The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) has leveraged more than 30 years of expertise in fermentation to develop a Lactobacillus extract which has been clinically shown to improve skin soothing, barrier and acne. Since 2002, the company has been using a proprietary in-house fermentation process to support microbiome research.

To expand its expertise on probiotics and skin, The Estée Lauder Companies recently partnered with Nizo, a leading microbiome research company, to better understand the skin microbiome and its response to the topical application of probiotics. Study results were co-presented at the Skin Microbiome & Cosmeceuticals Congress in San Diego last month. It showed:

• Cheek microbiota composition was significantly different between young and old women 25 younger (20-28 years old) and 25 older (59-68 years old) women; and

• Treatment with a Lactobacillus extract, after one week, had a significant shift in the microflora of acne patients.

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