The Cosmetic World and the Rise of Microbiota Trends
The cosmetic industry is always at the forefront of new and evolving trends, introducing new terminology into common language. Among these, “microbiota” is undoubtedly one of the most talked-about terms in recent times, transforming from a niche concept to a commonly used term among a new segment of conscious and demanding consumers.
However, we must take a step back to delve into the meaning of the term and understand what is meant by skin microbiota and the reason behind the ongoing discussion.
The Microbiota and the Skin
As we know, the skin serves as the first line of defense against external infectious agents, but it also provides a perfect natural habitat colonized by various microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, yeasts, and viruses. This is what we refer to as skin microbiota—a complex ecosystem with diverse micro-environmental conditions populated by different microbial communities.
These skin communities are influenced by the site, the individual, and their genetic makeup, and they tend to remain stable over time, despite exposure to varying external environments like different climates.
Current knowledge indicates that these microorganisms are influenced by a mix of endogenous and exogenous factors. Endogenous factors relate to the immune status, genetic traits, and skin properties, while exogenous factors encompass diet, conditions and lifestyle, the use of medications, and inevitably, the use of cosmetic products.
With the pharmaceutical and food sectors sharing similar concerns regarding personal wellness, the cosmetic world has identified microbiota as a new opportunity and has sought to deepen the understanding of the relationship between this population and the underlying skin, thereby intervening in the mechanisms of skin physiology and health. Thus, for the beauty industry—especially in skincare—microbiota has become a valuable resource and ally in skin treatment.
Specifically, since skin health is closely linked to microbial flora, and an imbalance can lead to skin alterations, there are promising prospects for creating new cosmetic products and effective, personalized solutions that cater to specific needs within a new daily routine.
In fact, the best treatment for skin health should consider its natural balance and respect the skin microbiota. The technological challenge lies in integrating new insights from the microbiome with innovative, highly personalized formulas that maintain the integrity of the original skin microbiota.
Inevitably, this growing interest has already translated into numbers: in recent years, there has been an increasing number of scientific studies demonstrating that skin microbiota plays a crucial role in the skin’s physiological mechanisms essential for its protection. Additionally, there has been a boom in the launch of cosmetic products with claims related to skin microbiota, with dedicated lines multiplying and offering a diverse array of options to appeal to every consumer.
Most of these products focus on addressing new needs such as strengthening and restoring skin barrier properties, providing a balancing and gentle action, catering to sensitive skin, and even offering anti-pollution benefits. In general, many proposals position themselves as treatments for tired and stressed skin that needs to regain its vitality.
While the development of this wide range of cosmetic products has been rapid, the establishment of a robust evaluation strategy to support microbiota-related claims has been less so.
Research
To address this issue and find the best way to evaluate product promises, the research laboratories at Etichub, in collaboration with its partners, have set up an important multi-phase research project aimed at validating a cosmetic efficacy protocol that could effectively support products developed in this direction.
The research started from a clear and simple premise: given the multitude of intrinsic and extrinsic factors influencing the composition of skin microbiota, conducting an appropriate in vivo study to evaluate the impact of a cosmetic product on bacterial flora requires minimizing these variables as much as possible. This is achievable by recruiting and including a homogenous group of subjects in the dedicated study.
The crucial step for the successful execution of the in vivo study involves the careful pre-selection of all participating subjects for eligibility. Therefore, Etichub’s evaluation laboratory has created a complex sampling questionnaire to track all variables that could influence microbiota, as indicated by existing literature data.
By administering this tool to a substantial panel, useful data and information are gathered to categorize all participants based on their response scores. The result is a clear tabulation of personal characteristics and habits that affect the composition of the skin microflora.
The analysis of the responses considers a predefined set of inclusion criteria, but more importantly, exclusion criteria, using a funnel approach to obtain a reduced but homogenous number of subjects, thus ensuring reliable and consistent final results.
By establishing primary and secondary exclusion criteria, as well as additional minor elements related to environmental factors and lifestyle habits, a factorial and behavioral analysis is conducted. This allows for precise profiling of all these influential parameters, resulting in the development of an evaluation scheme and protocol suitable for addressing microbiota-related claims.
It is evident that starting with a large pool of potential subjects is essential to arrive at a suitable number for the study while accommodating substantial reductions at various selection stages. This demonstrates the complexity of obtaining a coherent group, but it is only through a proper differentiation process that a reliable study can be established to support cutting-edge trends in a continuously evolving market.