Your skin is the barrier between you and the outside world. It is the largest organ in your body, with its own microscopic ecosystem – called a microbiome — that it relies on to block invading pathogens and to stay hydrated.
Your skin can’t perform either of these important functions without the microbes that live within its structure. This is why Esse is focused on supporting the skin’s microbiome through their skincare range.
To understand how to fix problematic skin, you first need to understand some of the ways in which microbes help to support the skin.
The Skin Microbiome Provides:
Competitive Exclusion – A living armour on skin
Probiotics protect skin through competitive exclusion by forming a living armour on the surface of the skin. Competitive exclusion means that good microbes occupy the space in and on the skin cells, limiting the opportunity for bad bacteria to invade.
With all the space occupied by good microbes, the immune system doesn’t need to fight invaders constantly. As a result, you avoid sub-clinical inflammation, which is how we slow premature ageing.
T-Junction Formation – A stronger skin barrier
The “stitches” between the skin cells are known as Tight-junctions. When the quality and quantity of Tight-junctions increase, they can form a barrier to keep toxins and pathogens out and moisture in. Probiotics help increase T-junctions and this is why Esse uses Probiotics in their products. The result is sustainably hydrated skin and reduced appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
Defensins – Protective substances for skin defence
Boosting the skin’s production of anti-microbial peptides (AMPs), such as defensins, results in a healthier, more balanced skin microbiome. Esse delivers this boost with the use of specific probiotic ingredients. For example, our use of the probiotic ‘lactobacillus’ can boost the production of ß-defensin 3 in skin by 74%.
- Quick Byte: Lactobacillus species, part of a group known as lactic acid bacteria, are particularly efficient at producing Lactic Acid – hence their name.
The Result
So, what can you expect to see with a regulated skin microbiome? This is a question Esse has answered for more than a decade.
Super Hydration
One of the key benefits of improved barrier function is improved hydration. Moisture is locked in, and cells can function optimally. The result? Well-hydrated skin that ages more slowly.
Quick Byte: There is also a more direct way Probiotics improve hydration. Some of them produce super-powered moisturising ingredients. Our microbial allies act as living moisturiser factories that produce natural moisturising factors like Hyaluronic Acid directly in the skin. By improving barrier function, you can reduce the triggers of skin sensitivity.
Reduced Sensitivity
For those with sensitive skin, the skin’s immune system is easily triggered, which can result in inflammation—appearing as redness and discomfort. An intact skin barrier blocks access to these triggers so that they don’t trigger an inflammatory response.
Probiotics can send healthy signals to skin’s immune system, keeping it calm and avoiding unnecessary activation.
Actively Supporting Aging Skin
Probiotics improve skin firmness & elasticity.
In independent testing by a lab in Bonn, Germany, the Esse Probiotic Serum improved skin firmness by an average of 16% over 28 days, and 100% of the test subjects showed an improvement.
Improvements in skin elasticity are also seen.
Ready to give skin the probiotic boost it needs? Try the Esse Probiotic Serum and see a difference in just 28 days.