The skin microbiome

A unique ecosystem

Your skin has its own ecosystem, called the microbiome, which is unique to each individual. The microbiome is made up of millions of bacteria - both beneficial and harmful - that work in balance to support the skin's health.

The microbiome is largely determined by age, gender, diet, hygiene, and environmental factors such as climate and pollution.⁸

A healthy pH

Critical to this is maintenance of a healthy pH (approx. pH 5.0 to 5.5). Healthy skin is naturally acidic, which allows the microbiome to thrive. When the skin environment isn't acidic, this leads to a bacterial imbalance and subsequent dry skin, potentially allowing harmful pathogens to proliferate (such as Staphylococcus aureus or Staphylococcus pyogenes).

This imbalance can also lead to a variety of skin conditions, including acne, rosacea and eczema.⁸

Bacterial diversity

Bacterial diversity differs by body area. Differences in skin temperature, texture, thickness, humidity and chemistry help determine which kinds of microbes live where on the skin.