92 SKIN MICROBIOME
Unlocking the acne microbiome mystery
Patrick Gonry – Gobiotics
Acne remains a skin condition surrounded by mystery and contradictory information. The usual suspect is Cutibacterium acnes and the main, perhaps sole, strategy to improve acne- prone skin is to reduce and preferably kill this guilty pathogen. End of story. Yet it becomes confusing when it is
becoming clear that C. acnes is one of the most protective members of the microbiome. It protects the skin from pathogens such as Staphyloccocus aureus, Streptococci and an endless collection of dangerous fungi. In addition, C. acnes produces Rox P, a powerful antioxidant that prevents the formation of destructive free radicals. So what is the right strategy: reducing
C. acnes or supporting it? What would be a sustainable strategy? The answer and solution to acne lie already in the skin microbiome. It has been there forever but has now been unlocked thanks to a metagenomics study. It turns out that an enzymatically purified inulin (preBIULIN® FOS) activates this hidden solution. The product supports acne-prone skin both under rinse-off and leave-on conditions.
The skin microbiome in balance It is generally assumed that healthy skin has a skin microbiome in balance, while distressed skin, such as acne and atopic dermatitis has a microbiome out of balance. But what does ‘in balance’ mean exactly? To answer
that question, we need to approach the skin microbiome as a community of microbes and not as a collection of individual species. Such a community is only successful
(or in balance) when: all its members are communicating with each other; all its members are working together towards the same goal;
and each individual member put the interest of the community before their own personal interest.
That is exactly how a microbiome
in balance functions; all species are communicating and working together to protect themselves and their precious home: the skin. They need to cooperate together to survive as food is scarce and each molecule needs to be recycled and transformed repeatedly amongst the whole protective microbiome. The skin microbiome gets its food from dead skin cells, sebum, sweat and oxidized skin lipids. Not all the members of the microbial community can directly feed themselves with all the different food provided by the skin. Sebum is the favourite food source for
C. acnes and S. epidermidis, while sweat is mainly forMicrococci and Corynebacteria. The dead skin cells are directly eaten by the S. epidermidis. Fortunately, the members of the microbial
Figure 1: The food web – cooperating protective micro-organisms PERSONAL CARE September 2023
community are not selfish; they ensure that the other residents have a delicious meal as well. This is arranged by a sophisticated recycling strategy. Food provided directly by the skin is transformed into other metabolites. These metabolites are nutritious for other
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