SKIN MICROBIOTA AND COSMETICS

The skin microbiota is the set of microorganisms on the skin (including bacteria, fungi, viruses and mites) that live in symbiosis with the body. Each square centimeter of skin is home to more than one million microorganisms belonging to hundreds of different species.

The skin microbiota represents a valuable protective system for the skin that contributes to health and slows down skin aging.

Sunlight, urban pollution, atmospheric conditions, and chemicals are all components that can alter the balance of the skin microbiota exacerbating skin problems.

It is therefore important to make sure that the cosmetic products applied promote its balance rather than alter it. A good approach is to encourage the microflora naturally present in the skin through: prebiotics (natural substances that nourish microorganisms), probiotics (viable microorganisms) and postbiotics (metabolites of bacterial fermentation).

From experience in the field of nutrition originates the increasing use of ingredients that can maintain and restoremicrobial homeostasis in the skin.

Cosmetics can be supplemented with probiotics or prebiotics. While the use of probiotics, defined as viable microorganisms, is extremely complex, the addition of prebiotics is easier to implement.

Prebiotics are substances that nourish microorganisms, promoting their growth and thus skin well-being. They are organic compounds such as fiber, carbohydrates and sugars.

Prebiotics include microalgae, unicellular green algae.

Microalgae are of particular interest in cosmetics because of their composition, which is rich in carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, vitamins and minerals. In particular, the polysaccharides present represent the compounds that are able to nourish the skin microbiota, preserving its delicate balance.

The use of microalgae, or rather the addition of extracts of microalgae to cosmetic products, represents a valuable opportunity to use actives with valuable phytochemical content from an ecological and sustainable supply chain. In this way, so-called clean beauty is preferred.