Dirty and Happy – Your Skin
The cult of cleanliness has stepped on a heavy boot, with its hard toe trampling mass disinfection and typhus, but it also pushed us into the abyss of allergies and the darkness of antibiotic resistance. Yes, perhaps we must pay for everything. But let us return to the skin.
When we are born, we pass through that very sacred opening through which children appear into the world, and which for some reason people fear to name aloud and veil with unseemly superstitions in not very intelligent circles.
Vagina. There live microorganisms that give rise to your multi-billion army of defenders and allies. A baby, passing through the birth canal, appears in the world covered with a layer of maternal microbes. They have already been selected through long cohabitation with the mother and perfectly fit the child genetically. Of course, this is under ideal circumstances. Imperfect conditions include infections, cesarean sections, and the use of antimicrobial agents.
And all those microbes, as will soon be, like the first colonizers of Mars, conveniently settle on the hills of our sebaceous glands, become transplantable, and establish friendships with each other and with us. Over time, the microbial landscape takes on some characteristic general features, for example, areas with oilier skin host Propionibacterium and Staphylococcus; in places that are more often moist, such as the armpits, there are more Corynebacteria; and dry skin is full of Proteobacteria and Flavobacteria, while on the feet of most of us live Aspergilli, Rothia, Cryptococcus, and Epichloks. But despite such general patterns, the microbiota of each of us is unique, like fingerprints. And this is already being used by forensic scientists.
Why do we need microbes on our skin?
A good place does not stay empty. It’s warm here, there are always nutrients, so those who want to live there will find a place. But not every microbe will enjoy such neighborliness. Besides, our microbes protect us from “invaders” — foreign and sly microbes. They do this in various ways. First of all, there is colonization resistance. In simple terms, this means that the “bad guys” have nowhere to settle, because all vacant spots on our skin are already occupied by our “good guys.”
Second, bacteria synthesize and secrete into the surrounding environment peptides with antimicrobial activity, which do not interfere with neighbors but “smell bad” to newcomers. They can do this themselves or push our skin cells to produce such weaponry. For example, for instance, epidermal Staphylococcus interacts with TLR2 receptors on the surface of keratinocytes, which in turn release substances that inhibit the growth of Streptococcus and Staphylococcus aureus. A somewhat different method, but just as effectively, epidermal Staphylococcus makes our cells more resistant to possible infection with leishmaniasis.
In addition, as research shows, the skin microbiome not only influences our immunity but actually [teaches and nurtures it]. Without microbes on our skin, certain immune system cells cannot mature and acquire the ability to protect us from something.
A healthy microbiota also calms our immune system, giving it the command to restrain its emotions and not overdo inflammatory responses. This is precisely the case when a small pimple can be a pink dot or a red patch on half of the face.
But it would be fair to say that all this does not work so perfectly all the time. Otherwise there would be no acne, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, rosacea, and more. In all these unpleasant phenomena for our mirror, disturbances in the skin’s microbial landscape and, as a consequence, immune responses, are involved.
What upsets our priceless microbes?
Our microorganisms suffer every time we indiscriminately take antibiotics, use antimicrobial substances and products, use cosmetics with anti-bacterial components, and too often carry out various “cleansing procedures,” chemical peels, laser resurfacing, etc. The beauty industry implants stereotypes and a sense of imperfection and dirtiness, with which it seems we must fight to somehow resemble the photoshopped faces of glossy magazine girls. It’s fair to say that in recent years the situation has slightly changed — large cosmetic brands have also started talking about the microbiome. And… offered consumers care products with probiotics and prebiotics, which is not so bad. Of course, their pleasure is not cheap. And the microbiota does not recover as quickly as we would like. In this regard, not only the face should be mentioned, but also antiperspirants. In one of the studies, it was shown that the use of antiperspirants increased the number of actinobacteria, which in turn contributed to an increase in the intensity of an unpleasant odor. Oops.
What can be done?
No panic — we do not urge you to give up hygiene and go lie in the mud (though the skin would probably be glad). Nor to neglect aseptic rules when they are necessary.
The old good truth remains: all things in moderation. So here is a small list of how you can slightly ease the fate of our skin microbes and make this alliance more harmonious.
- Moderation in cleansing procedures. Their frequency should be defined by your lifestyle and the intensity of skin contamination.
- For some this may sound scary, but if you do not unload coal wagons, a daily shower gel is not needed (if you did unload them, not always) — everything that can be washed off without detergents, should be washed off without detergents.
- The same goes for antiperspirants — using them with excessive sweating because “it’s a given” is not worth it. If you do not want to worsen the situation;
- When choosing hygiene products (shower gel, facial cleansers, shampoos, etc.), choose those that do not contain or contain fewer antibacterial substances. Without a doctor’s recommendation, do not use products daily that contain, at least in the first half of the ingredient list, substances with pronounced antimicrobial action. This includes, for example, ethyl and isopropyl alcohol, benzalkonium chloride, salicylic and glycolic acids, etc.
- Whenever possible, choose pump-type dispensers — where the product does not contact air and the environment, and therefore contains fewer preservatives needed to preserve the product itself;
- Instead, try to touch your face with dirty hands less — this will not only save the skin from unwanted irritation but also prevent the spread of respiratory diseases. Clean your mobile phone, which we often hold to the ear and cheek!
- Do not overdo it with products and procedures that promise “deep cleansing.” Their necessity should be determined by your dermatologist. Of course, the same goes for antibiotics. Let your skin be not perfectly clean, but perfectly healthy! :)
