BACTERIA AND YOUR SKIN:
IT’S ALL ABOUT
BALANCE
F
or a long time, we have been told that
bacteria is bad for you. We use cleansers
to remove it from our complexions,
spray our houses with disinfectant to prevent
illnesses and obsessively wash our hands after
touching anything on public transport in an
effort to eradicate it from our bodies. But, it
seems, we have been thinking about bacteria
all wrong. The tide started to turn around a
decade ago, when scientists revealed that there
was such a thing as good bacteria and that
increasing or maintaining its levels within
the gut could help improve digestion and
combat conditions like IBS. But it’s not just
the gut that can benefit from better bacteria,
your skin can too.
There are 10,000 different microbial species
that inhabit the human body and a large chunk
of them reside on the skin. This collection of
microorganisms is what’s known as the skin’s
microbiome and, despite its low profile, it is
responsible for a great deal. The easiest way
to picture your microbiome, without getting
too grossed out, is to think of a tiny commu-
nity of microorganisms living and working
together on the surface of the skin to help
protect your body and inner organs from harm.
“The microbiome is the ecosystem of micro-
organisms that live in and on you. Think about
it as an extension of yourself or your own
personal rainforest: lush, unexplored and vital
for your wellbeing,” explains Dr Marie Drago,
member of the French Society of Cosmetic
Science, expert in the skin’s microbiome and
the founder of Gallinée Skincare. She believes
that good skin health can be achieved if the
bacteria living on the skin is tended to prop-
erly and shown the utmost care. If the skin’s
protective barrier becomes compromised, bad
bacteria and irritants can easily work their
way into the body; at its optimum balance,
skin’s microbiome can help prevent this from
happening and can keep the epidermal barrier
strong against external aggressors like pol-
lutants. “Your skin’s bacteria helps to
synthesise the acid mantle, the layer of pro-
tection at the surface, and occupies enough
space so that no other bad bacteria can come
and invade,” says Dr Drago. “Your microbiome
is also really good at keeping your immune
system in check: helping it to recognise path-
ogen bacteria, and also teaching it not to
overreact to normal signals.”
So far, so good. But what happens when the
levels of bacteria on the skin become unbal-
anced, with more bad bacteria than good
occupying the surface? According to Dr Drago,
too much bad bacteria can lead to breakouts,
eczema, inflammation, sensitivity and prema-
ture ageing. To combat this, she recommends
combining a healthy diet with products
infused with probiotics and prebiotics. Sound
ISSUE #10 | 2019 | SkinHealthMagazine.com 30
Gallinée
By Danielle Hadley