Prebiotics and probiotics in cosmetics

This time, Driu Beauty invites you to learn about prebiotics and probiotics. We will discuss what are prebiotics? How to use them? And, what is actually good for your skin microflora?

Prebiotics in cosmetics - what are they?

So far, the most information and research can be found on prebiotics and probiotics. Prebiotics are food for good bacteria, they stimulate the growth of good bacteria and improve skin condition. These substances are found in some foods. The most abundant source is chicory root, but also a significant concentration of prebiotic substances is found in artichokes, dandelions, garlic, green leeks and onions, green beans, wheat bran, wheat flour, oats, apples and bananas. Inulin, which is extracted from chicory root, is most often used in cosmetics, look for it in the composition under the name Inulin. Prebiotics also include sugars of plant origin (xylitol, mannitol, sorbitol, etc.). In the production of beauty products, not only these sugars, which have moisturizing properties, are used, but also compounds extracted from them, called oligosaccharides, look for them in the list of ingredients with the ending “-oligosaccharides”. Both inulin and oligosaccharides, when applied to the skin, feed the good bacteria, thus improving the skin's microflora and reducing the impact of harmful bacteria. If you are looking for products with prebiotics, choose those that contain several different prebiotics, such products will always be more effective.

What is the difference between probiotics and prebiotics?

Probiotics have also recently been used in the cosmetic industry. Naturally, probiotics, also known as good bacteria, live on the surface of human skin and create a protective veil that protects the skin from environmental influences. When the balance of these bacteria is correct, the skin is able to protect itself from harmful factors, it is not bothered by dryness, redness and other skin problems. We can find a lot of probiotic substances in some food products - yogurt, kefir, cabbage, soybean by-products, some types of cheese, fermented vegetables are rich in good bacteria. There are also common oral capsules with probiotics to improve intestinal microflora. However, using probiotics in the development of cosmetic products is not so easy. First of all, because these are live cultures, which should also be applied to the skin alive in order to improve the skin microclimate. The bacteria themselves are also quite fragile and unstable, so this is a real challenge for cosmetic chemists. Most often, products do not use the bacteria themselves, but fermented substances, filtrates, lysates, various extracts, but they do not have the same effect as live bacteria. Of the live bacteria, the most popular is the lactic acid bacterium called Lactobacillus bacteria, but often it is not the bacteria itself that is used, but its enzymes, filtrates or lysates. There are many names that could be mentioned, but the most important thing is to simply know that if the manufacturer claims that a beauty product contains probiotics, the probability that it contains live good bacteria is quite small, and therefore the effect of the product may not be at all what one would expect.

Which ones are better?

As always, my approach to innovations is quite critical and skeptical, I always look for clear evidence and reliable sources. Although the latest studies on the skin microbiome are promising, studies on substances that influence the skin microflora are quite poor and lack much specificity. With prebiotics, everything is clearer, using them in production is not difficult. However, with probiotics, everything is much more complicated - live bacteria cannot be in products with preservatives, it is very important what good bacteria will be used to create the product, because the types and concentration of bacteria in different parts of the body vary greatly, there is no information at all about how long a probiotic stays alive in a product, etc. There are still a lot of unanswered questions, but I am really glad that science is moving forward so quickly and I have no doubt that all these questions will definitely be answered in a few years. In the meantime, let's try new products, evaluate their effects and hope that very soon beauty products will really facilitate our fight against all skin problems and diseases.