Biome Security

Everything you need to know about your surface biome.
When it comes to your skincare routine, you might have heard about your surface biome, skin microbiome or that you need to keep the microbiota on your skin balanced. Having a diverse, balanced microbiome is normal, natural and important for protecting your skin and keeping it looking great.

If you’re not sure what this means for you and your skin, here’s an overview of how to nourish and take care of your natural microbiome.

What is your skin microbiome?
Your skin’s microbiome (also known as your surface biome) is made up of billions of tiny microorganisms like fungi, mites and bacteria, working together to keep your skin and immune system in delicate balance.

This balance is made up of a mix of your genetics, environment and the products you use. Your body temperature, the foods you eat, your health, medication and even whether you have pets can all affect your natural microbiome. FYI, there are around 1 billion bacteria per square centimetre of your skin - but luckily, they’re invisible.

The skin microbiome is constantly interacting with your environment and works to support our health by protecting against infection, influencing the immune response, protecting against UV radiation, and helps provide nourishment to the skin cells. It also makes up your skin’s natural barrier and helps to keep it in check.

Recognising an unbalanced surface biome.
As well as protecting your skin, your skin barrier also has an influence on how your skin looks. It helps to keep your skin healthy, soft, supple and plump. Your skin barrier can be damaged if your natural microbiome is damaged or disturbed.

An impaired or damaged skin barrier means that your skin can’t hold onto everything that it needs to keep the skin healthy and looking great. Damage to your skin’s natural barrier means that the skin loses water and becomes more vulnerable to ‘bad’ bacteria and infection.

You may be experiencing the effects of a damaged skin barrier if you have:

• Dry skin with a rough texture
• Itchy skin
• Discoloured patches on the skin
• Breakouts
• Skin sensitivity
• Inflammation
• Skin infections

Ageing, genetics, over-cleansing, using harsh products and UV exposure can all disrupt your skin’s microbiome and lead to a damaged skin barrier too. It’s a delicate balance, and one that you need to be aware of.

Once your skin barrier has been damaged, it’s not always straightforward to rebalance it. It’s best to treat and protect your microbiome to stop your barrier from becoming damaged in the first place. Research has also linked the skin’s microbiome to ongoing skin conditions and concerns like acne and atopic dermatitis.

How to nourish the surface biome.
Your surface biome is your front line security, only letting good bacteria in and refusing entry to anything that could cause damage. And it’s a full time job. Our surface biome works 24/7 to keep our skin healthy and balanced, helping to avoid disruption to this delicate ecosystem.

Many of the microorganisms on your skin scavenge the dead skin to keep us exfoliated, our surface acidity in balance and to keep bad bacteria at bay. If this balance gets disrupted or the conditions are depleted, then this can mean mayhem for your skin.

One of the best ways to maintain your surface biome is to maintain the balance. This means keeping your sebum and skin PH regulated (ideally surface acidity 4.5-5.5) which can be achieved by making sure your cleanser doesn’t strip away the carefully cultivated (literally) surface biome or remove essential sebum that feeds the biome.

Choosing a daily, gentle acid exfoliator, such as Skinfoliate. The combination of natural AHA and BHA acids help your skin to achieve multi-level exfoliation whilst regulating and maintaining your acid mantle - the fine film that sits on the surface of your skin, acting as your skin barrier.

It’s also important not to overuse ingredients like vitamin C and Retinols are these can play havoc with the balance of your skin. Sticking to simple routines, gentle products that are good for your skin and not touching your skin too often throughout the day can really help your skin to thrive.

Reducing stress is also key to maintaining your biome – higher cortisol levels affect the whole body including gut biome and surface acidity. Environmental pollutants and chemicals disrupt the delicate balance too. Chemicals from clothing, washing detergents, soaps and alcohol based sanitisers disrupt the ecosystem or the living conditions and leave the skin open to bacteria and infection as the normal levels of protection become compromised.

Looking for a skincare routine to support and nourish your skin’s surface biome and natural microbiome? Our Skincare 5 A Day System has been created to replenish and maintain the barrier function of your skin whilst supporting your surface biome and acid mantle.