For that glowing skin: Probiotics contain good bacteria and are excellent for skin health

Probiotics are live microorganisms in your own body or on your skin. These good bacteria are constantly putting up a fight against the bad ones – the ones that can cause skin irritation, inflammation, acne breakouts, and other skin diseases.

File picture (representational purpose)

By Dr Deepali Bhardwaj 

How many times have you checked that “anti-bacterial” label before buying beauty products? Well, every single time mostly and it’s like a new fad for many too. But researches in cutaneous care of dermatology show bacteria are not only vital for maintaining the natural glow of your skin but also wards off many skin diseases. Now, before you drop your jaw or rue over the fact that you have been sold a faulty beauty paradigm all these years, it is important that you understand the biology and chemistry of your skin microflora, which is predominated by probiotics bearing in mind that somewhere that sanitizer and mask have changed the flora of hands and the masked area of face surely! Besides using harsh chemicals, bleach on the face, online trending OTC AHA’s/ BHA’s, and exfoliation followed by not a correct regimen can also lead to a change of flora. 

So, what exactly are probiotics and how are they beneficial for your skin?  Probiotics are live microorganisms in your own body or on your skin. But these are good microbes that we need and have plenty of health benefits. They boost your body’s immune response. There is a renewed interest in the study of the health benefits of probiotics. We have known for some time the health benefits of a good and stable gut microbiome. This is what explains the rise in popularity of probiotic-rich yoghurt and health drinks. But the same understanding is now being experimented with in the beauty industry and there are way too many benefits to ignore this significant development.

Your skin’s natural microbiota is a protective shield against invasion by pathogens that provoke immune reactions. To put it simply, good bacteria are constantly putting up a fight against the bad ones – the ones that can cause skin irritation, inflammation, acne breakouts, and other skin diseases.

There are three main components in your skin microbiota – probiotics, as defined earlier as the good microbes; the prebiotics, the food on which the good microbes feed on; and postbiotics, the chemicals released by the microbes. These chemicals like anti-bacterial peptides are of immense benefit to us as they eliminate harmful bacteria.

Now, you might also want to understand that your entire body skin might not have the same flora. Apart from macro flora, there is micro flora depending on how dry or moist an area of the body is. More importantly, both the micro and macro flora of the body are disturbed by environmental stressors. There is enough evidence to show that the cause of many skin diseases is depleted skin microbial diversity due to environmental causes, although genetic factors could also account for it.

Research shows that diminished cutaneous microbes are seen in over 90% of individuals with eczema in contrast to only 5% of unaffected individuals. Living in concrete jungles, braving traffic jams amid winter and pollution, rapid urbanization, climate change and complete disconnect with nature have a direct impact on our skin’s micro and macroflora. And it is the good bacteria that are being killed in thousands maybe lakhs if one is a smoker, either active or passive. Altering lifestyle choices can only help you so much because living in an urban setting has its own set of challenges as much for you as for your skin. So, opting for probiotic-rich skin products could be a wise choice to make as a dermatologist cause they will act as anti-inflammatory generally, and also internally, yogurt in the diet has to be added for best results. 

The use of probiotics in natural form or their cosmetic use fortifies the skin against the impact of environmental stressors, such as free radicals, UV radiation, excessive screentime, pollution, poor lifestyle choices, climate change, toxins, allergens, xenobiotics etc.
Apart from environmental stressors, what might be causing irreparable damage to your skin is over-sanitization. I have seen my clients suffer year-long dandruff problems, despite using anti-dandruff shampoos and from sensitive skin syndrome before the pandemic began. One of the reasons for these ailments lies in our obsession with washing and cleaning our scalp and facial skin more frequently than required. Overwashing, shampooing, and exfoliation cause yeast disbalance, which in turn causes pH disbalance. Harsh chemicals in your makeup can also kill good bacteria.

Several skin conditions like rosacea and sensitive skin syndrome, early greying of hair are all result of overwashing and consequent pH disbalance. Skin conditions like psoriasis, acne vulgaris, rosacea, atopic dermatitis, and telangiectasias or broken capillaries and blood vessels and signs of ageing can be countered by eating probiotic-rich curd and applying it topically too. I always recommend my clients, especially older women dealing with skin damage problems, to both eat and apply curd, and now with the stretched pandemic, I advocate this to all and one.

The cosmetic use of probiotics is a new phenomenon. Most of the probiotic technology in skincare is obtained from bacteria cultures commonly used to prepare yoghurt. Newer probiotics and prebiotics skin products are being launched to not only enhance the skin’s natural immune response but also as a treatment for several skin diseases. One of the ways of enhancing the effects of probiotics is to apply prebiotics, to ensure the right kind of food for the right kind of skin flora. Probiotic-rich products help to strengthen the skin barrier, optimize the skin's ability to remodel collagen and elastin, and reduce inflammation which limits flare-ups and has anti-ageing properties. They stimulate skin’s repair and renewal capacities and keep the skin optimally hydrated maintaining cutaneous homeostasis.

What’s the icing on the cake is the fact that probiotics can be used for all skin types and helps in strengthening the skin barrier and restoring the skin microbiome generally. But one must not use over-the-counter products without consulting an expert because your skin’s microflora might be different from another’s. Even within your own body, the microbial diversity would differ and so will the prescription.  But what you can do, to begin with, is surely watch out the next time you slather that anti-bacterial face wash five times a day. You might be killing off your skin’s best friend try to find natural kitchen remedies hence suited to your skin to aid the best skin health and balanced bacterial flora surely!

(Disclaimer: Dr Deepali Bhardwaj is a dermatologist. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the views of Zee News)