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 promote the microbiome balance and diversity of the skin. We aim 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 – which feed and promote the growth of good bacteria
Post-biotics – which enhances the biodiversity of the skin, strengthens skin fermentation, and soothes and freshens skin
Plant Actives – which improve skin health and hydration

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

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 kickstarted our R & D in October 2019 by collaborating with 3 science laboratories. Our ingredients were tested to determine how each affects certain strains of good and bad bacteria. Only after months of testing were we able shortlist a number of ingredients and begin designing and formulating our skincare range. The next step was to send the finished product prototypes back to the lab to be tested once more. To ensure the the utmost effectiveness and safety of our products, we re-formulated close to 50 iterations before producing the final prototype.

After this, our products were sent to a safety assessor for further testing, which is a requirement according to cosmetic directives. When all our products cleared this assessment, we then collaborated with MyMicrobiome in Germany to put our products to the ultimate test. We are extremely proud to confirm that our sensitive skincare range is certified by MyMicrobiome to be skin microbiome-friendly!

In-House Focus Group Clinical Trials

A clinical trial was conducted on 15 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