Often identified from a young age as enemies to be defeated, microbes nevertheless represent an essential part of our daily lives.
The reason why they have such a bad reputation is due to the number of diseases they trigger when they colonize our body.
Indeed, beyond the mere presence of micro-organisms in our body, it is the proportion in which they colonize our organs, relative to each other, which can make them a threat.
In other words: microbes are not necessarily undesirable. Even more surprising: they are vital for maintaining the proper functioning of our organs.
The greatest of them is no stranger to this reality. Indeed, the skin is covered with micro-organisms which make up its ecosystem.
What bacteria does the skin contain? What functions does she assign to them? How is understanding this ballet essential to your skin health? How to maintain the balance that guarantees it?
Bacteria: friends or enemies?
Much less appreciated in general by our organism in their natural state, viruses are generally excluded from the questioning of the role of microbes in human health.
Those who are causing a lot of ink to flow are therefore mainly bacteria, fungi and protozoan organisms, whose status as “living beings” is much better accepted (viruses enjoying a more ambiguous qualification in this regard).
The boundary between pathogenic and useful
Some protozoa, fungi and bacteria are called “pathogens” and others are “beneficial organisms”.
If this summary classification seems to be clearly segmented, the line to cross to move from one of these categories to the other is in fact sometimes very thin.
Bifidus (or bifidobacteria), for example, are systematically invoked as key arguments in the product formula of certain dairy brands. Allies that can contribute to better intestinal transit, bifidobacteria are in fact used as “probiotics” (agents facilitating the development and maintenance of bacteria present in the digestive system and essential to the digestion process).
In this sense, it is possible to say that bifidobacteria, like the bacteria present in the digestive system (notably the “intestinal flora”), are “useful” or even “beneficial” microbes for your health.
However, in rare cases, these microbial agents may prove to be the means for other agents recognized as pathogenic to thrive.
In a study conducted by researcher Hena Butta in 2017¹ , we discovered that in several cases, bifidobacteria were at the origin of the development of various infections.
Such elements are likely to draw attention to the particular cases, the context and therefore ultimately the conditions in which a microbe can prove useful to your skin health, or even to your health in general.
From parasitism to cutaneous commensalism: the “dangerous connections” of your skin with certain microbes and the benefits of certain others
To fully understand in which cases a microbe is beneficial to your skin or not, it is the relationship it has with it that we must focus on.
Parasitism: a toxic relationship
“Skin parasitic microorganisms” are the microbes that affect the proper functioning of your skin while exploiting its resources. This type of relationship is typically the one associated with a pathogen whose presence is absolutely undesirable since you cannot derive any benefit from it while the microorganism in question “uses” you to guarantee its own survival.
Different types of microorganisms follow this pattern on the surface of your skin, such as plasmodium falciparum, vivax, ovale and malariae (protozoa responsible for malaria) or dermatophytes (fungus colonizing glabrous skin, 'i.e. hairless skin).
Commensalism: a win-win relationship
The reason why we speak of “commensal flora” in the context of the skin microbial universe is that the microorganisms found there “normally” (that is to say in the case of skin healthy) maintain a relationship of mutual interest with the skin.
This is for example the case of staphylococcus white (or “staphylococcus epidermidis”) which is by far one of the bacteria most present on the surface of the skin.
Playing a role in preventing the proliferation of more virulent and pathogenic staphylococci (such as Staphylococcus aureus), this bacteria feeds on organic waste present on the surface of the skin (notably sebum).
This two-way relationship allowing your skin to be better protected is therefore called “commensal”. Staphylococcus white is thus one of the “saprophytic” agents (also called “saprobionts”), that is to say organisms that feed on “dead” organic matter in order to survive and develop in an environment. without being pathogenic for it.
Furthermore, recent studies tend to show that the immune role of this commensal flora is broader than previously thought.
In a study carried out in 2018 ² by the team of researcher Teruaki Nakatsuji, we discovered in particular that staphylococcus white would fulfill a surprisingly important function in the prevention of skin neoplasia (that is to say in the appearance of cancers of the skin).
The commensal flora of your skin: understanding the skin microbiome to enable it to better help you
“Skin microbiota”, “skin microflora”, “commensal flora” or even “normal flora”… The commensal microorganisms permanently living on the surface of your skin are organized into a network with multiple functions for their human host , of which here are some examples:
- Immune function by colonization of available space (certain large and/or numerous commensal microbes take up a significant portion of your skin's surface area, reducing vacant spaces that could serve as starting points for pathogenic microbes seeking to colonize your epidermis) ;
- Immune function by antimicrobial action (the metabolism of certain commensal microbes leads to the secretion of substances limiting the development of other pathogenic microbes);
- Metabolic function by eliminating waste from skin metabolism (certain commensal microbes feed on organic waste produced by your skin, limiting the risk of infection and allowing the skin to breathe properly)
- Metabolic function by supplying nutrients (certain microbes release organic waste from their metabolism which serves as nutrients for your skin)
However, to enable the commensal flora to carry out these functions, it is essential to guarantee it an environment in which it will be possible to develop.
Ensuring good living conditions for your skin commensal flora
If the skin flora plays a role in stabilizing the pH of your skin, your skin must also initially allow the commensal flora to survive. In other words, it is because the two-way relationship that the commensal flora maintains with the physical characteristics of your skin is somewhat of a chicken and the egg story that it is essential to pay attention to the characteristics of your skin and, if necessary, adjust them.
Therefore, the most common approach when the condition of your skin does not meet the expected specifications is to resort to solutions to support your skin health.
In this regard, two tools are at your disposal:
- Local application solutions (used topically, typically: creams, ointments, gels, etc.);
- More general nutrition solutions (usable orally, typically: food supplements).
If the former are well known to the general public, the latter are often less well understood. Indeed, how can consuming a food supplement help your skin maintain its ideal conditions? Even more: how can this help your skin commensal flora?
The answers to these questions lie in physiological details relating to the functioning of your skin and its structure.
In an article recently published on our blog on how your body gets a makeover , we talked about how your skin organ is structured.
In this regard, we explained how the dermis and epidermis represent the bulk of your skin and shed light on how they interact in your daily life as well as the roles they play in maintaining the health of your barrier skin.
It is particularly at the level of the dermis, whose composition is largely based on an ECM (ExtraCellular Matrix), that the metabolic reactions allowing nourishment of the epidermis occur.
The production of sebum is partly explained by these and it is to guarantee continuity in flexibility, firmness and the level of hydration that your dermis is the site of reactions taking collagen, hyaluronic acid, ceramides and many other nutritional elements.
Thus, regulating oily skin in order to guarantee the balance required for your commensal flora to function properly can involve a supply of ceramides, hyaluronic acid and organic silicon, as we explain in previous articles.
In this sense, offering your body the means to have nutrition adapted to its needs when your diet does not meet them can involve consuming a food supplement designed for the health of your skin.
MyCollagenLift: the ally of your health routine to maintain your skin environment
This is what the MyPureSkin team offers you by providing you with a food supplement solution focused on maintaining the health of your skin: MyCollagenLift.
Thanks to its cocktail of 100% natural ingredients, MyCollagenLift is a nutricosmetic offering both:
- To support you in your daily effort to adopt appropriate nutrition;
- To help you stimulate your production of collagen and hyaluronic acid;
- To provide you with additional support in your effort to prevent premature aging.
To achieve this, the exclusive MyCollgenLift formula contains:
- Collagen peptides whose bioavailability is significantly higher than that of hydrolyzed collagen;
- Hyaluronic acid, to help your skin maintain a normal level of hydration over the long term thanks to its ability to carry nearly 1000 times its mass in water;
- Wheat ceramides (gluten-free) helping to protect your body from insensitive water loss;
- Organic silicon, antioxidant and skin restructuring;
- Vitamin C extracted from acerola, helping to neutralize mismatched electrons;
- Vitamin E, playing a similar role;
- Grape OPCs, polyphenols also helping your cells to protect themselves from the harmful effects of free electrons;
- Zinc, a trace element which is also part of this effort.
- SOD (SuperOxide Dismutase enzyme), extracted from melon, helping to create an internal and external antioxidant shield for your cells.
Are you considering taking better care of your skin? Are you looking to give your skin commensal flora the means to fulfill their role? Why not start a 3-month treatment with MyCollagenLift?
- Study carried out by the team of researcher Hena Butta on the emergence of infections due to bifidobacteria: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5418030/
- Study carried out by the team of researcher Teruaki Nakatsuji on the role of staphylococcus white in preventing the appearance of skin cancer: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5834004/