The Best Skin-Care Products Infused With Probiotics
Bugs and skin — the association alone makes us itch. Yet, over the last few years, there’s been an explosion of these buzzy, probiotic-infused skin-care products, along with a surge in studies investigating their powers to improve every kind of complexion concern, and even, fascinatingly enough, to slow the normal signs of aging.
As a result, bugs have become standard shoptalk for beauty editors — with Lactobacillus plantarum and Bifidobacterium longum now as fundamental to our skin-care vernacular as alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) and beta hydroxy acids (BHAs). But with research on the skin's microbiome — its own indigenous collection of bugs — in its very earliest stages, probiotic beauty is still a murky category.
You read that right: There are more than one trillion bacteria living, crawling, snacking, metabolizing, in and on our skin, representing roughly one thousand distinct species. These essential bugs exist to fight infections, thwart environmental damage, boost immunity, regulate pH levels, and keep our skin plump and dewy. We've learned that bacterial diversity is key, too. "The greater the variety of bacterial species on the skin, the healthier its barrier will be, and the less dryness, inflammation, itching, and stinging you'll experience," says Whitney Bowe, clinical assistant professor of dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City, and the author of The Beauty of Dirty Skin, tells Allure.
These internal bugs also share a complex connection with the vast colonies of microbes inhabiting our intestines — so much so that exemplary gut health has become a sort of beauty goal of late. It's currently the insider's secret to clear, luminous skin and the driving force behind our kombucha obsession. The fermented tea is, of course, teeming with probiotics: the live bacteria and yeast that support and replenish our natural gut bacteria.
How do these belly bugs affect our skin? When we ingest probiotics from kombucha and other fermented foods (kimchi, miso, and kefir), or in the form of supplements, they join the endogenous bugs of our gut, adding to the eclectic mix of microflora that's required for a healthy intestinal barrier.
See, when something threatens our harmonious balance of bacteria, like a routine course of Cipro or junky eating habits, nasty germs can multiply and crowd out the good guys, which inevitably damages the lining of the intestines, causing toxins once destined for excretion to leach into the bloodstream. This ignites a firestorm of inflammation that impinges on every organ, but most visibly, our skin: We're talking breakouts, rashes, rosacea, and eczema flares galore.
Aiming to help foster this rich and disparate microbial community are the latest probiotic skin-care formulas. While some contain live cultures (aka probiotics) to buoy skin's innate supply of bacteria, others include prebiotics — compounds that feed existing skin bugs, helping them thrive. Loads more products rely on postbiotics, the beneficial extracts that living bacteria give off when put through a fermentation process that revs up their metabolism. (Some of these byproducts are natural antibiotics, capable of killing germs that contribute to acne and infections; others can spark healing without the usual need for an instigating injury, which is what microneedling does.) Non-living pieces of bacteria, called lysates, and all the useful stuff they secrete, fall under the postbiotic umbrella, too.
Just as important as the type of biotic in the bottle — be it a whole living organism, broken-up bacteria, bug food, or a by-product — is the specific strain, as each species has its own unique properties and purpose. And there are a lot of them, all with utterly tongue-twisting names. Then, of course, there's the question of evidence, with some brands being better than others at conducting clinical trials to back up their benefits.
The 15 products below, all hand-picked by board-certified dermatologists, represent the best of probiotic skin care paired with vetted studies and information to back them up. Prepare to nurture your microbiome.
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