Ten years ago, the skin microbiome was a fresh promise.
Today, it has become a marketing argument for ingredient suppliers and finished product brands across the beauty industry. In 2026, this claim ranks third among the most requested research topics on the Skinobs testing platform. This is welcome news for scientific evaluation and for the personalization of skincare.
This issue of ZOOM explores the subject from in vitro assays through to clinical and biometrological studies on volunteers.
Our thematic dossier examines how a claim of respecting or balancing the microbiome can be evaluated, first through vitro and ex vivo assays, then through in vivo studies in humans. Each of these approaches serves a distinct purpose. A test on bacterial strains or cell cultures shows how a product behaves, whereas an in vivo study reveals what happens under real conditions of use.
Acne offers a particularly illuminating case. Cutibacterium acnes lies at the heart of these claims, yet this bacterium is a natural resident of healthy skin. The real question, therefore, is not merely «how many bacteria?» but «which ones, and how do they interact with the skin?».
This is why testing methods are growing ever more sophisticated: the aim is no longer simply to describe the bacterial strains present, but also to understand their functions.
On the regulatory front, there are still no specific rules in Europe, Asia or the United States governing these claims, nor the labels such as «microbiome-friendly» that are now emerging. Choosing the most appropriate method, and then the most accurate words to describe its results, remains a brand’s best safeguard.
In this issue, you will find articles on the latest trends in hydration and menopause testing, the Skinobs barometers, the ISBS keynotes, reports from the SFC «Maquill’âges» meetings, Cosmetotest and the «Beauté sous tension» study day, as well as interviews and news from testing laboratories and instrumentation suppliers.
Finally, should you prefer listening to reading, all our webinars are available as replays on the Skinobs YouTube channel, ready to be viewed at any time.
Enjoy the read.
Discover the articles in ZOOM :
CASE STUDY – MICROBIOME
- Clinical Studies for Microbiome
- Eotech, Smaltis
- Gen Z & Microbiome
- Skin, Brain & Gut Axis
- Preclinical Assays
- Testing news for Microbiome
- Vibiosphen, Zurko Research
- Miravex, Cliantha Research, QACS Lab
- Validated Claim Support, Courage+Khazaka, PhD Trials
- Byome Labs, Complife-GBA Group, Goya Innova
LATEST TESTING OVERVIEW
BEAUTY TESTING TRENDS
- Skin and Menopause: Substantiating Promises &
Performances - Interview: Pascale Barlier, Cos&Co
- Skinobs Barometer
- Interview: Vincenzo Nobile, Complife-GBA Group
- A Mutli-layer Approach, Rethinking Hydration Claims
KEYNOTES & EVENTS
- Cosmetotest Symposium 2026
- Rencontres Maquill’ÂgeS
- Beauté Sous Tension
- ISBS Congress 2026: The skin, from surface to depth
- Asia Beauty Market – in-cosmetics Asia
- India: A Beauty Market in Full Transformation – HPCI Mumbai
- Skinobs Youtube Channel
