Will a skin microbiome test hold all the secrets? Could it help you understand more about your acne? Or perhaps indicate which skincare works best for your skin?
What is the skin microbiome?
Our microbiome includes communities of microbes including bacteria, viruses and fungi. The skin is colonised by a large number of microbes which are mostly beneficial or harmless. These microbes are important as they play fundamental roles in health and disease.
There is a link between dysbiosis of the microbiome (when our levels of microbes are out of balance) and certain skin conditions. Initial research has also shown that certain microbes are present, depleted or imbalanced in certain conditions such as rosacea, dermatitis and acne.
Essentially early research points to a link between our skin microbiome and skin health. If we could understand more about our personal skin microbiomes, we could better recognise how to treat skin conditions and personalise our skincare to suit our unique make up.
Can a skin microbiome test help?
In the last few years we’ve seen gut health boom and gut microbiome testing becoming more and more advanced. Since 2020, we’ve also seen skin microbiome tests emerge in the market. With a swab of your cheek, these tests promise a skin microbiome score and your personalised recommendation for skincare. The tests often use genome sequencing, similar to gut microbiome tests, which claim to understand more about your skin microbiome.
However, skin microbiome tests cannot, yet, diagnose, prevent or treat any disease or medical condition. At present, they do not have sufficient clinical research behind them but there is certainly promise for the future.
How do I know if my skin microbiome is out of balance?
If a skin microbiome test won’t work, what can I do? Sencyr has been conducting research in the skin microbiome space for several years. Did you know that many skin disorders such as atopic dermatitis and rosacea have too little Cutibacterium? Our studies also show that for acne sufferers, the diversity of sub-communities of the Cutibacterium is out of balance. Diversity matters in every community - even the microscopic ones! Sencyr’s Living Skin Probiotics increase the Cutibacterium diversity on your skin to rebalance your skin microbiome. You apply the topical probiotics to your skin once a day and for best results, we recommend using them alongside our other Sencyr skincare products.
Curious about our latest research? Find out more about Sencyr’s products here and more about our research here.
Author
Lucie Hayter
CEO & Founder of The Gut Feeling (UK)
