We co-exist with a vast universe of a trillion microbes that thrive on our skin, unique to each of us, just like our fingerprint.
In simple terms, the skin microbiome is the community of microorganisms (and their genes), that live on our skin and in our follicles. 99% of these microbes are either helpful or essential to our skin and overall health - they're definitely not unwanted guests!
Genetically speaking we're actually more microbe than human, harbouring several million microbial genes compared to our own 23,000 genes. Aside from the gut, the skin hosts the most microorganisms in the body. Up to one million bacteria can live in just one tiny square centimeter of skin, part of a teeming ecosystem.
The skin’s microbiome forms in infancy (depending on the way we were delivered at birth) and stays relatively stable over our lifespan, although it shifts with increasing age. It's influenced by how much time we spend indoors, the products we use on our skin, and whether we live in an urban or rural area, and have pets.
Microbial makeup varies significantly across different body sites, depending on skin pH, moisture, sebum production, and environmental factors locally - for example Propionibacteria species and Staphylococci species predominate at sebum-rich sites.
Friends & Foes
Science is only just starting to understand the crucial role our microscopic friends play in maintaining a healthy radiance, but we do know that the skin microbiome is responsible for some pretty important jobs: protecting us against external invaders, regulating inflammation, slowing skin aging, shaping our immune system, and promoting skin repair - important things for both a smooth, youthful complexion, as well as our general health.
When the interspecies balance is upset (ie a loss of helpful species & increase in harmful species), skin dryness and sensitivity, accelerated skin aging, and certain skin conditions can result. Our skin bacteria can even help predict how well we will heal from a chronic wound.
Meanwhile research is increasingly showing that adding probiotic bacteria topically can aid skin wellness and improve skin conditions - displacing harmful bacteria with the good guys.
The takeaway - our skin microbes play a crucial role in our overall wellness. A healthier skin microbiome can help shift the balance from skin drama back to skin health, so cosying up to our skin critters is a good idea!
