Did you know that your skin is a home for billions of microorganisms? It’s called skin microflora and is composed of various tiny organisms. Naturally, some of them are our allies and do good to our skin, yet sadly there are also some microorganisms that appear to be pretty harmful. How to take care of the skin – the home for those welcome and unwelcome guests?
FUN FACT!
Skin microflora develops during the very first days of our life; this is exactly when microorganisms start inhabiting our bodies. Over time they evolve and this process is strictly connected and influenced by the surroundings, lifestyle, nutrition and environment. It was proven that there is almost 4.5 lb (2 kg) of bacteria on and inside our bodies!
Why is it good to have microbes residing on our skin?
It seems that we should be merciful and hospitable to those tiny beings because if it wasn’t for them, our body would be covered with a layer of these “bad” beings that cause more harm than good to the dermis. These “bad” microorganisms are called pathogens. In most cases their appearance spells doom for us. In other words, the development of the natural kingdom of microorganisms is much needed by our skin because once removed, the new colony of microbes – mostly pathogens – would rise, which wouldn’t necessarily be beneficial for us.
Do you know how to help these “good” microorganisms thrive on your skin and push back the pathogens? Let us tell you how to take care of the skin microflora.
1. Personal care accessories
If you suffer from acne and other similar skin imperfections, especially these affecting the face skin, check whether the personal care accessories you use on a daily basis are clean. The majority of skin imperfections are caused by the bacteria residing on makeup brushes, face brushes and even wet towels that hang in the bathroom for too long making the perfect environment for the pathogens and bad bacteria that we later transport to our skin. For that reason, keeping all personal care accessories perfectly clean is crucial for our skin to remain healthy.
2. Probiotics cleaners
The skin’s protective barrier needs to face various aggressors. Sometimes it’s excessive stress, some diseases, medications, and even hormonal fluctuations. Therefore it’s important to support the microflora by using special beauty products containing bacterial lysate (simply put, some fragments of bacteria). Once treating your body with such products, you help the skin develop and master its defensive mechanisms which later translates into healthy skin. Moreover, such products deal with sebum and sweat, and reinforce the natural hydro-lipid coating of the skin in a single step.
3. Protect your good bacteria
Good bacteria is like cleaning crew that apart from keeping the skin healthy, also combats the pathogens. To help them live peacefully on your skin, you should use natural body cleansers that don’t disturb the skin microflora and create the shield against pathogens. What ingredients should you look for in shower gels? Basically, you should choose the products formulated with a special type of sugars (e.g. xylitol) and oligosaccharides.
4. Stress affects microbes!
Did you know that stress negatively influences the biological balance in your body? To put it differently, if you suffer from chronic stress then every single part of your body suffers as well, even the skin microflora.
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