WHAT IS SKIN MICROBIOME?

"Skin Microbiome" refers to the billions of bacteria, virus, fungi, and mites that live on human skin. The 2013 “Human Microbiome Project” research uncovered a large diversity of microbiome living in harmony with human skin cells. These organisms feed on dead skin, turn sebum into natural moisturiser, and most importantly, protect the skin from potential assault by foreign organisms to toxic substances.

The delicate balance found within these microbes are crucial to skin health; when this balance is interrupted, skin conditions such as eczema, rosacea, and acne may occur. Unsurprisingly, our modern urban lifestyles and habits have affected the skin microbiome balance. Here are some examples of how this balance has been interrupted.

Harsh cleansing
Excessive use of hand sanitiser and antiseptic hand wash
Unhealthy diet
Stress
Pollution
UV rays
Using skincare products that are not skin microbiome friendly

Because every ingredient that touches the skin can impact the delicate microbiome balance, we created a microbiome-friendly skincare line that incorporates carefully selected and tested ingredients. This ensures that our finished products supports the skin microbiome diversity. Our skincare line aims to restore the delicate balance of your skin microbiome, enhance your skin health, and make your skin calmer and more radiant.

Our skin microbiome-friendly range contains:

Pre-biotics – ingredients that feed bacteria e.g. alpha/beta glucans, sugars, inuline and maltodextrin.
Post-biotics – are fractions and by-products of bacteria which enhances the skin microbiome e.g. lactic acid, bacteria lysate, fermented actives
Plant Actives – which improve over all skin health and hydration.

ALL our functional ingredients are tested to be skin microbiome-friendly.

100% free from petrol-chemically derived ingredients

100% biodegradable

Benefits of the Skin Microbiome Friendly products include:

Skin Repair
Skin Protection
Increased Moisturization
Skin Radiance
Anti-Ageing
Calm and Soothed Skin

Our R & D Journey

We wanted to create the world’s first customizable and certified microbiome-friendly skincare line that is backed by science, but were aware that this would require support from a scientific research institution. We have a passion for the science behind a microbiome-related skincare range. Because of the skin microbiome’s diverse nature and its crucial role in balancing and enhancing skin health, as well as bearing in mind how each ingredient can impact the skin microbiome, we select our ingredients thoroughly and carefully.

As we developed formulations for a new microbiome-friendly skincare range, researchers from the Agency for Science, Technology and Research’s (A*STAR) Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) carried out bacteria viability studies for us. The IMRE team also used machine learning to help us optimise the performance of our formulations.

We discovered the science behind microbiome-related skincare and developed a range of clean beauty customizable microbiome-friendly skincare. The human skin’s microbiome is diverse, and keeping its balance is crucial to enhancing skin health. Bearing in mind that each ingredient could drastically impact the skin, ingredients in the skincare range were selected carefully. Various ingredients were shortlisted and specially selected to ensure that the skincare products would be friendly to the skin microbiome.

In addition, we have collaborated with MyMicrobiome in Germany, who has developed the world’s first standards for microbiome-friendly products. Some of our products have been tested and certified by MyMicrobiome to be microbiome-friendly. We also worked with Sequential Skin where they have developed the world’s first at-home skin test, that deeply analyses the skin genetics and skin microbiome.

We have innovated, created and validated the first of its kind customizable and certified microbiome-friendly skincare in the World. Our development capabilities in skincare is backed by scientific studies done with MyMicrobiome and Sequential Skin.

In-House Focus Group Clinical Trials

A clinical trial was conducted on 10 participants over a period of one month. These participants used the Sage and Ylang Skin Microbiome Friendly series - which consist of the Gentle Face Cleanser, Beauty Essence, and Soothing Moisturiser - twice a day for a month. Before they started using this range, a skin analysis using OBSERV 520 and skin patch test using Sequential Test Kit were done. These tests were repeated after one month.

Here is a list of the documented results observed by the participants:

Increased comfort of the skin
Increased skin hydration
Increased overall radiance
Decreased dryness
Soothed sensitive skin
Lessened skin redness and oiliness

Here is the summary of the results from OBSERV 520 and Sequential Skin test:

increase in skin microbiome diversity in almost 99% of participant
increase in the amount of good bacteria in 100% of participants: Lactobacillus Acidophilus and Staphylococcus Epidermidis
reduction in the amount of bad bacteria in 100% of participants: Staphylococcus Aureus which is associated with skin condition like eczema.
sebum production greatly reduced

References

^[1]https://www.dsm.com/markets/personal-care/en_US/trends/the-skin-microbiome.html

[2]Barren-Hill, Florence. The Skin Microbiome; Importance & Formation, pastiche-training.com/online-courses/specialist-subjects/the-skin-microbiome-importance-and-formation/.

^[3]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279255/

^[4]http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/2/eaao4502

^[5]http://www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/pcmites.htm

^[6]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4425451/

^[7]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3535073/

^[8]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3535073/

^[9]https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-18181-5

^[10]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4425451/figure/F1/

^[11]https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4425451/

^[12]https://www.nature.com/articles/s41522-017-0022-5

^[13]https://www.dsm.com/markets/personal-care/en_US/trends/the-skin-microbiome.html

^[14]https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1004436