For a long time, dermatologists have been saying that there is no miraculous elixir for facial skin. Any, even the most effective remedy, still acts gradually and does not cancel other rules of care.
Home care is very important for maintaining the health and beauty of the skin, just remember that in your daily rituals you need do not overdo it, do no harm, guided by good intentions and based on erroneous premises.
What are our ideas about proper care that can be harmful?
We all know the basic formula for home skin care – cleansing, moisturizing, toning, nourishing. Depending on the type and condition of the skin, you can clean your face with washes with various foams and gels, milk or cream, apply a scrub or gommage.
Microorganisms live on the human skin and even inside it, just like in the intestines (in the respiratory, urogenital tracts), and this is normal. Various bacteria, viruses, protozoa and fungi interact with each other and with the host organism, all this living creature is necessary for a friend, scientists call it microbiota, microbiome.
25% of the microbiota lives deep in the thickness of the skin, where the oxygen content is only 3%, because microorganisms that do not need oxygen (anaerobes) or consume it in microdoses (microaerophiles) live here. A set of these organisms is needed by the skin to maintain its healthy balance, maintain the lipid mantle, and maintain the desired level of acidity. The bacterial community prevents the impact of aggressive environmental factors. There is a similar micropopulation in the respiratory, urogenital tracts.
If some types of bacteria die from external influences, others actively multiply, not necessarily useful. This can be manifested by an increase in sebum production, a decrease in its production, dryness and a tendency to dehydration, which leads to wilting and wrinkles, inflammation, itching, allergies, keratomas, pigmentation disorders, etc. Too clean skin is vulnerable.
It is believed that a diverse composition of the microbiome is preferable, since such systems are more stable. People with various diseases, not only dermatological ones, have a skin microbiome of a different composition than healthy ones. A lot of things affect the set of microorganisms — the nature and composition of nutrition, hygiene habits, medical interventions (drugs, vaccinations), heredity.
“Cleansing the skin of the face, hands, and the whole body should not be excessive. With antiseptics, alcohol wipes, scrubbing and soap, we also remove our natural protective environment,” says Yulia Alexandrovna Chernyavskaya, dermatologist, cosmetologist (blog on Instagram @ dr.Yulia Ch).
In the meantime, trying to protect ourselves from the Covid-19 virus, we began to use these means more often than we harm our invisible inhabitants and reduce the protective functions of the skin.
Doctors and the popular science press have already taught us that to maintain the health of the intestinal microflora, you need to eat foods rich in fiber (fruits, vegetables, greens), drink fresh kefir, natural yogurt. After taking antibiotics that destroy beneficial gut bacteria, doctors usually prescribe pro- and pre-biotics from a pharmacy.
So maybe to replenish the skin with beneficial bacteria, you need to apply kefir on your face? Wrong decision. You do not need to do this, even if after washing yourself with kefir once or twice, you notice that the skin looks better. The positive effect of lactic acid products on the skin is due to the lactic acid contained in them, if you continue kefir washing, you can achieve a deterioration in the condition of the skin, overdrying it with the same acid, and irritation. The composition of the skin microbiome is different than that of the gut.
So what can you do to maintain your beneficial skin bacteria?
For starters, stop hurting them. Do not wash with washing, use mild products for this process, remember that water itself can also dry out the skin. Girls with oily and combination skin sometimes sin with this, struggling with oily sheen and achieving the opposite result. Excessively cleansed skin, trying to compensate for the lack of sebum, produces it even more.
Do not get carried away with peeling. Controlled trauma, which is achieved by peeling products, is really effective. The face after restoration looks smooth and fresh. “My skin is clean, stretched like a mirror,” the girls enthusiastically write in social networks about their impressions after the end of the peeling exfoliation period. But healthy skin doesn't have to be too clean. After peeling, the skin is weakened, its microbiome is disturbed, it is prone to pigmentation and redness. “Often, the same girls who rejoiced at the cleanliness of their face and praised the effectiveness of peeling, after a while complain about the inflammation that has appeared,” notes Yulia Aleksandrovna Chernyavskaya, dermatologist, cosmetologist (blog on Instagram @dryulia.ch).
Care cosmetics containing beneficial microorganisms have already been developed and are being sold. In creams and serums, of course, they are not alive (otherwise their shelf life would be too short), but specially prepared, their use is effective in restoring the skin microbiome.
Dermatologists never tire of repeating that to maintain beautiful skin, you “just” need to maintain good general health, an even mood, get enough sleep, breathe fresh air, eat a variety of wholesome foods normally, regularly follow simple home care rules, exercise moderate physical activity. And we add another important rule — do not overdo it with cleansing the skin, let it be better not washed, so it will be healthier.
Despite the popularity of simple truths, women are waiting for magical cosmetics, actively experimenting with various novelties of cosmetology, and this is wonderful. Scientists are constantly working in laboratories to develop the latest and most effective creams and serums that restore freshness to the skin, and we all look forward to them. Until then, let's take care of the home. Regular, sparing, friendly to the invisible friend and protector of health — the microbiome.