It is increasingly known how important a balanced microbiome is for health in general, and for the skin in particular. And we are seeing more and more products on the market that claim to respect it, or even balance it to improve the condition of the skin. Claims that need to be proven… which is not so easy. On 26 October 2021, at the Sustainable Cosmetic Summit, Kristin Neumann, co-founder of MyMicrobiome, presented the “Microbiome-friendly” certification system, which is now applicable to ingredients as well as cosmetic products.
Kristin Neumann introduced her speech by explaining some basic notions about the microbiome. The microbiome is the set of microbes that live on and inside the human body. It is made up of bacteria, fungi and viruses and includes about 2 million genes.
Each microbiome is very specific, since it is 80 to 90% different from one person to another. And in the same person, its composition varies according to each part of the body.
The microbiome is in constant interaction with our immune system, which it regulates and which it also helps to react to external pathogens when they represent a danger. A well-balanced microbiome is therefore a guarantee of good health.
“It’s like a tool that helps us function, and we know we couldn’t survive without it,” Kristin Neumann illustrated.
Focus on the skin microbiome
Even if we consider the organ that is the skin, it has been proven that there is not a single skin microbiome but several micro-environments depending on the temperature, pH, etc. of the different parts of the body.
“It’s like a planet with many specific ecosystems with very different balances of bacteria, with a million microbes per square centimetre of skin,” explained Kristin …
