Skin Microbiome and Startups working on them
What comes to your mind when you think of bacteria?
Personally, when I think of bacteria it’s with the intention to rid of them.
But the companies we are going to discuss here will tell you how you’d WANT to have bacteria on you.
You may already be using microbiomes for your gut in the form of probiotics but we often forget about the good bacteria on our largest organ- the skin, and the skin microbiome.
For years the narrative has been to get rid of the bacteria that live on our skin. But recent studies prove their importance for the health of our skin. They don’t just get rid of the dead skin cells, they also prevent skin diseases.
These companies bring with them the 3rd wave of skincare. So let’s see who they are and what they are upto.
Esse
To be (probiotic) or not to be….was never the question for Esse since their name means “To Be” in Latin.
The company changed its gears and started working on integrating microorganisms into their products after the Human Microbiome Project
Prior to that, the company established itself in the nascent organic skincare market in South Africa. Now their primary focus is anti-aging and “skin optimizing”.
Their products range from cleansers, toners, moisturizers to exfoliators, and sun protectors.
Even before getting friendly with the good bacterias, Esse’s focus was around creating organic products. When Esse was founded in 2002 by Trevor Steyn, who was a student of organic chemistry, the company was centered around African plants. Trevor did research on the African Sausage Tree in 2000 and after two years of formulation, Esse was born.
Esse claimed its name to fame when they launched what they claim as the world’s first live probiotic serum. When it comes to probiotics, keeping microbes alive in a bottle long term is a big hurdle to cross. Using preservatives is no help either as it ends up killing microbes.
Esse launched their product in a unique glass packaging, provided by Lumson’s Techno Airless Glass System® (TAG). It is an airless glass packaging system that comes with a temperance proof “echo-lock”.Within the serum, the microbes are suspended and encapsulated within an oil-base. They start to multiply when they come into contact with water on the skin’s surface.
Esse’s Nourish Moisturiser was also won an award in ‘Best Day Cream’ category at the Organic Beauty Awards in Sweden
JooMo
JooMo, a British microbiome centered skincare brand, refuses the label of a “probiotic” brand. According to them probiotics is concerned with making a particular microbiome beneficial for the skin while their team focuses on the microbial diversity of the skin.
They sell various kids’ and adults’ face washes and body washes. Some for these flaunt the vegan tag and JooMo even claims to be a 100% natural brand. This landed them with the award of “best natural launch” in the 2013 Pure Beauty Awards.
The creators saw around them the various problems created by chemicals such as a 500% increase in childhood skin problems (eczema, allergies, acne, etc), the problems they faced on their own, and the inability to find its cure in western medicine.
It inspired them to create a product that focused on empowering the skin’s natural environment as opposed to changing it and restoring the damage done to it by harmful synthetic chemicals. Hence Linda Russell, Nick Wallen, and their twin sons Sam & Kit got together and co-founded JooMo
The JooMo team teamed up with the Medical University of Graz and performed first-ever clinical trials on the effect of everyday cosmetics on the skin microbiome. In the trial, they compared the effect of a leading ‘Synthetic’ brand and a so-called ‘Natural’ brand and JooMo’s on skin health.
The primary measures were following two-
- the effect each product had on the skin’s microbiome biodiversity
- the effect they had on the skin’s moisture retention
And the following were the two conclusions drawn-
- JooMo significantly increased the skin’s natural biodiversity within two weeks
- JooMo had relatively higher moisture retention than its synthetic and “natural” contemporaries
The results showed that synthetic chemicals present in most products cause major skin biodiversity depletion. Also, that a healthy microbiome is a diverse microbiome, containing a wide variety of different species living all over our bodies.
All of their research is funded by Pavane Consultants Ltd, the R&D and IP sister company of JooMo Ltd. The British company is also certified by Open Natural Labelling Association (ONLA).
Their curious name “JooMo”, they explain, is a take on the French word for twins jumeaux.
Tula
Tula is one of the most famous probiotic skincare brands. You can find raving reviews about it all over beauty blogs and Instagram. This popularity was one of the reasons why the brand managed to raise $12.2M in two rounds.
As opposed to their probiotic skincare contemporaries, Tula’s selling point is that it combines probiotics with “superfoods”. They claim to boost the skin’s appearance & restore its natural balance, hence the name “Tula” which is Sanskrit for balance.
Their founder Dr. Roshini Raj, is a practicing gastroenterologist & has been studying probiotics for 15 years. She also boasts a degree from Harvard & New York University.
It was while she was treating her patients with probiotics she realized their powers and combined them with active ingredients to form Tula.
They sell various skincare products such as cleansers, moisturizers, toners, primers, etc. they also segregated products based on skin concerns such as oily, dry, acne-prone, dull, and aging among others.
They believe that the ingredients that are good for your body are good for your skin. Based on that use the following list of ingredients for their respective attributes.
They test these products and ingredient combinations in independent laboratories for safety.
They drew their data from various studies. For their microbes, they studied Lactobacillus Rhamnosus GG, Lactobacillus Plantarum, and Bifidobacterium Infantis.
Yun Probiotherapy
YUN is a European biotech company that carries out research on probiotics and develops probiotherapy. They work in collaboration with a team of professors from the University of Antwerp and research solutions for all acne, sensitive skin, and athlete’s foot.
One of the most common problems faced while working with probiotics is their shelf life. While scientists have devised few solutions around packaging, YUN probiotherapy has come up with their own technology which is based on multi-layered microcapsules that consist of three layers and a liquid core.
The main advantage that their encapsulated technology provides is that it allows the incorporation of live probiotics in water-based skincare products i.e. they developed the first-ever methodology to apply live bacteria on the skin.
According to their CEO Tom Verlinden, The performance of the probiotic ingredients can be negatively affected by the preservative and emulsifier systems in a cosmetic product.
Hence in addition to this new technology they use special preservative and emulsifier systems for their products. They claim that they are not only natural but can also protect the product and do not affect the bacteria due to the protective shell (microcapsules).
Once the product reaches the skin, the microcapsules deliver the probiotic, and the preservative system is completely deactivated to keep the bacteria alive.
But microencapsulation isn’t where they stop to keep the bacteria alive. They go on to package their products in airless tubes to prevent oxidative damage and extend their products shelf life upto a year (and are currently working to extend it to two years)
Apart from their cutting-edge technology YUN probiotherapy take pride that they have scientific proof to back up their claims. They have conducted multiple clinical trials for their microbiome such as the following two on skin acne-
- Studying the Skin Microbiome and the Potential of a Topical Probiotic Cream for Patients With Acne- In this study, the topical use of cream with live probiotic bacteria was evaluated for its efficacy in reducing acne symptoms and its effect on the skin microbiota on patients with acne. Patients with mild to moderate acne used the probiotic cream for 8 weeks and clinical evaluation and sampling was done at the start, 4, 8, and 10 weeks. Next-Generation Sequencing was used to analyze the skin microbiota of the patients.
- Skin Acceptance and Efficacy Assessment of a Topical Product in Acne Treatment When Compared to a Placebo-In this study the topical use of cream with live probiotic bacteria was evaluated for its efficacy in reducing acne symptoms and its effect on the skin microbiota on patients with acne vulgaris. Patients with mild to moderate acne used the probiotic cream for 8 weeks and clinical evaluation and microbiological sampling was done at the start, 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks (after 4 weeks without the use of the product). Next-Generation Sequencing is used to analyze the skin microbiota of the patients.
Their products with live probiotics contain lactobacillus bacterial strains (L. Pentosus YUN-V1.0, L. Plantarum YUN-V2.0, and L. Rhamnosus YUN-S1.0), classified as GRAS which are generally recognized as safe.
These strains were selected from a set of potential bacteria using strict screening criteria such as-
- Safety
- Strength to fight pathogenic bacteria,
- The absence of antibiotic resistance
- Good performance during manufacturing
Their dosage of probiotics outnumbers the average number of microorganisms typically found on the skin to have enough effect, which is typically 10–4 to 10–6 (1 million) per square centimeter of skin.
They mainly sell their products online but you can also find their products in pharmacies.
Note: The research is mainly conducted by GreyB Services. So, to know more about skincare companies' research or new trends, do contact them here.