Have you ever been told you look younger than you really are? I’m sure it made your day. Heck… it probably made your whole week.
After all, in our culture youth means beauty.
But maintaining a youthful-looking complexion is tough. Especially when your skin is under attack from your own skincare products.
Some of the most common ingredients in skincare products are actually the same dangerous chemicals listed under “hazardous materials” on labels. Some of them come from crude oil and petroleum.
And they definitely have no place on your skin…
At the Sears Institute for Anti-Aging Medicine, I realized my patients were basically “washing” wrinkles and dryness into their complexion every time they used a cleansing product — even the high-end designer products.
The worst offenders are foaming cleansers that strip away oil, chemicals peels, rough exfoliators that can tear tiny holes in your skin and super acidic products like retinol.
These products wash away oil and bacteria. But this “dirt” is what comprises your skin’s microbiome.
And maintaining a harmonious balance of good and bad bacteria keeps your skin healthy — and young.
That’s where probiotics on your skin come into play…
Probiotics protect your microbiome by strengthening your skin’s moisture barrier…
Also known as your acid mantle or stratum corneum, this barrier provides critical protection for your skin. It acts as the first line of defense, keeping good things in and bad things out. Those bad things it keeps out include environmental stressors, bacteria, pollutants and other irritants.
If you’re prone to breakouts, getting your skin’s microbiome back in balance creates the ideal environment for good bugs to crowd out the acne-causing bad bugs.
I advise my patients to look for a probiotics facial cleanser that contains the bacteria Bifidobacterium longum.
When combined with enzymes to help break it down, Bifidobacterium longum was found to:
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• Help repair DNA damage from UV rays1 |
• Decrease skin dryness4 |
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• Improve skin elasticity by 30%2 |
• Reverse skin aging5 |
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• Strengthen skin barrier by 25%3 |
• Improve skin sensitivity by 50%6 |
Protect Your Microbiome for Younger-Looking Skin
Here are three more ways you can protect your skin’s microbiome:
- Workout and hydrate. Sweat is good for your skin because it feeds your good bacteria. Drinking at least 64 oz. of water a day eliminates dehydration, which can destroy your skin flora.
- Eat a low-glycemic diet. Eating foods high on the glycemic index increases the amount of hormonal androgens. These hormones pump out sebum in the skin. A low GI diet promotes normal sebum secretion and a balanced skin microbiome.
- Take care of your gut. Your gut, brain and skin speak to each other. What you put in your body has a direct impact on the health and appearance of your skin. Load up on gut-friendly, fermented foods like kombucha, miso, kefir, yogurt and sauerkraut.
To Your Good Health, 
Al Sears, MD, CNS
1. Hong K, et al. “Photoprotective effects of galacto-oligosaccharide and/or Bifidobacterium longum.” Int J Food Sci Nutr. 2015:66(8):923-930.
2. https://www.unifect.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Bifida-Ferment-Lysate.pdf
3. Guéniche A, et al. “Bifidobacterium longum lysate, a new ingredient for reactive skin.” Exp Dermatol. 2019;19:e1-e8.
4. Ibid.
5. Yeongmin Y, et al. “The protective effect of extracts of bifidobacterium longum against ultraviolet b in human dermal fibroblasts.” Kor J Aesthet Cosmetol. 2012;(10)4:887-897.
6. Guéniche A, et al. “Bifidobacterium longum lysate, a new ingredient for reactive skin.” Exp Dermatol. 2019;19:e1-e8.