Article
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The Role of Every-Day Cosmetics in Altering the Skin Microbiome: A Study Using Biodiversity
Version 1
: Received: 14 December 2018 / Approved: 17 December 2018 / Online: 17 December 2018 (07:27:34 CET)
A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.
Wallen-Russell, C. The Role of Every-Day Cosmetics in Altering the Skin Microbiome: A Study Using Biodiversity. Cosmetics 2019, 6, 2. Wallen-Russell, C. The Role of Every-Day Cosmetics in Altering the Skin Microbiome: A Study Using Biodiversity. Cosmetics 2019, 6, 2.
Abstract
As described in previous work, the use of synthetic chemical ingredients in modern cosmetics is postulated to be a cause of damage to the skin microbiome. The discovery that biodiversity on the human skin is currently the only reliable indicator of skin health, meant that for the first time, a mechanism to test for healthy skin was possible. Using this mechanism and in collaboration with The Medical University of Graz, who carried out the independent study, this work aimed to help answer whether modern day synthetic cosmetics are a main cause of long term damage to the skin microbiome. Thirty-two human participants tested three different face washes for their effect on the skin’s microbial diversity, along with skin pH, moisture and TEWL (trans-epidermal water loss), washing twice a day for four weeks. The upper volar forearm of the volunteers was swabbed at the beginning, two weeks in and end (four weeks). 16S rRNA sequencing was used. One leading ‘natural’ brand full of synthetic ingredients, a leading synthetic brand and a 100% natural face wash were used. Results give the first indications of a link between synthetic ingredients in a cosmetics product, and its effect on skin microbiome biodiversity. It paves the way for future studies on the topic with a larger sample group, longer test period and standardised methodology to create a universal standard for testing the health of skin using benchmark diversity values. This can be used in the future to test the effectiveness of cosmetics or ingredients on skin health, leading to the banning of products proven to harm the skin’s natural environment.
Keywords
skin allergy epidemic; skin microbiome; skin microbiome diversity; effect of synthetic cosmetics on skin; biodiversity; synthetic ingredients in modern cosmetics; skin health; healthy skin bacteria; damaged skin bacteria
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Immunology and Microbiology
Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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