Published: June 30, 2025
Just a few years ago, the skin microbiome was something that people never really talked about. Now, however, it has become a mainstream buzzword…and for good reason! Understanding how your skin microbiome works, along with how to encourage it to feel as healthy as possible, is the key to achieving a flawless complexion.
Ready to learn more? Read on as Bionyx takes a deep dive into the skin microbiome, explaining how it affects your complexion and what you can do to ensure that it’s as healthy as possible.
What is the Skin Microbiome?
If you were to look at your skin under a microscope, you would discover an entire ecosystem full of thousands of microorganisms. Consisting of bacteria, fungi, viruses, and more, this microbiome is a living, breathing part of your skin that starts developing as soon as you’re born.
Just like your fingerprint, your skin microbiome is completely unique to you. Each microorganism forms a part of a larger network that plays a crucial role in how your skin functions.
Why is the Skin Microbiome So Important?
Why all the fuss about the skin microbiome? It all comes down to how this ecosystem has a huge influence on the health of your skin. Let’s take a closer look at some of the different functions that it performs:
- Your skin microbiome is intrinsically linked with your skin barrier. It mediates barrier function, meaning that if your skin microbiome is off-balance, your skin barrier won’t perform in the way that it should. The two work together, with your microbiome helping to keep irritants, allergens, and more away from your skin.
- The body’s immune system is also strongly connected to the skin microbiome. In fact, your skin microbiome helps to train your immune system, teaching it which microorganisms are and aren’t harmful.
- pH regulation is another important task carried out by the skin’s microbiome.
- The beneficial microorganisms that make up your skin microbiome jump into action whenever your skin is injured, encouraging the healing process.
- The aging process is influenced by the skin microbiome.
- Your skin microbiome affects how your skin responds to UV rays.
Factors That Disrupt the Skin’s Microbiome
As you can see, your skin microbiome is pretty important! Unfortunately, there’s a lot out there that can disrupt this finely-tuned ecosystem, such as:
- Some skincare and cosmetic products can interfere with the delicately balanced skin microbiome.
- Certain skincare practices can end up removing beneficial bacteria.
- UV rays affect the growth and diversity of the microorganisms that make up the skin microbiome.
- Pollution and other environmental toxins influence skin microbiota.
- Your diet has a direct influence on both the gut and skin microbiomes.
- Stress, which affects the skin in many ways, interferes with the balance of the skin microbiome.
How to Tell If Your Skin Microbiome is Struggling
If your skin feels soft, smooth, and supple, and usually sports a natural glow, then your skin microbiome is likely well-balanced! However, if your skin hasn’t been looking too happy lately, the answers to your problems could lie in your skin microbiome.
How can you tell? Here are a few signs that your skin microbiome is struggling:
- A weakened skin barrier. This can lead to a few different problems, the first being an increase in sensitivities since your skin barrier is no longer able to keep impurities out. Dehydration will also be an issue because of how your skin barrier will no longer be able to properly retain moisture.
- Inflammation will be more prevalent.
- There will be an increase in acne and other skin infections due to the fact that harmful microorganisms will thrive.
- Chronic skin conditions, such as eczema and psoriasis, will be more persistent.
- Your skin looks dry and flaky.
- Your skin feels persistently itchy.
How to Support Your Skin’s Microbiome
Want to give your skin’s microbiome a helping hand? Here’s what you’ll need to do:
Avoid Harsh Cleansing Agents
The first step in getting your skin microbiome back into balance is to make sure that you’re being gentle with your skin when you cleanse. While cleansing is important for removing dirt and other impurities, it’s also notorious for interfering with the delicate balance of bacteria that your microbiome sports. Harsh cleansing agents will also strip away your skin barrier, which will subsequently interfere with your microbiome balance.
How do you know if a cleanser is harsh or not? Take a look at its ingredient list. The first few names on there will tell you which cleansing agents have been predominantly used. Avoid anything containing sulfates – these cleansing agents are known for being overly aggressive.
A product like the Bionyx Rhodium Mousse Cleanser, however, would be ideal. This formula makes use of coconut-derived cleansing agents. They’re gentle yet effective, and also have a conditioning effect on the skin. The fact that this formula also contains amino acids is another bonus. They’ll leave both your skin barrier and your skin microbiome feeling healthier.
Don’t Over-Exfoliate
Exfoliation is another important part of skincare. However, just like with cleansing, get this step wrong and you could end up stripping away the beneficial bacteria that make up your skin microbiome. This then allows the bad bacteria to flourish, causing the problems we discussed above.
Over-exfoliation can happen in two ways. The first is when you use an exfoliator that’s too powerful for your skin. Just like when choosing a cleanser, keep things gentle. The Bionyx Rhodium Complex Facial Peeling would be a great choice.
Of course, even with a gentle exfoliator, you can still over-exfoliate if you exfoliate too often. Make sure that you’re exfoliation frequency falls in line with your skin type. If your skin is oily, you may need to exfoliate up to three times a week. However, dry skin should be exfoliated less than this – aim for once or twice a week. If your skin type is sensitive, once a week, or even once every ten days, should be sufficient.
Look for Ingredients That Keep the Skin Barrier Feeling Strong
As we mentioned earlier, your skin microbiome and your skin barrier work hand-in-hand. If one isn’t feeling up to par, the other won’t be either.
So, if you want to give your skin microbiome some extra support, look for skincare products that contain barrier-friendly ingredients. The Bionyx Alloy Platinum Synergizing Serum is one example. This silky serum is infused with multiple peptides, as well as vitamin C and collagen. They’re all excellent ingredients for keeping the skin barrier feeling fortified.
The Bionyx Rhodium Night Recovery Cream is another formula that your skin barrier will love. Thanks to its plant oils and butters, it boasts a range of fatty acids that will leave your skin barrier feeling bolstered while giving your skin microbiome what it needs to thrive.
Consistently Hydrate Your Skin
Adequate hydration is crucial if you want your skin microbiome to do well. Hydrated skin provides a good environment for beneficial microbes while also preventing any harmful ones from multiplying. Additionally, the better hydrated your skin is, the better the diversity of the bacteria in your microbiome, which means your microbiome will be much better balanced. This then means that your microbiome will be able to contribute to moisture retention more effectively, keeping your skin even better hydrated!
So, how do you ensure that your skin is sufficiently hydrated? Ideally, hydration should be layered onto the skin. Start with a hydrating toner after cleansing, like the Bionyx Rhodium Facial Toner. This toner will also help to keep your surface pH balanced, which will help both your skin microbiome and your skin barrier.
Then, layer on a hydrating serum, such as the Bionyx BioLift Platinum Deep Wrinkle Concentrate. It’s packed with humectants, which are ingredients that bind moisture to the skin. Finish by locking that hydration in with a hydrating face cream, such as the Platinum Transformative Cream from Bionyx.
Pay Attention to Your Gut Microbiome
As we discussed earlier, the microbiomes of both your gut and your skin are very closely linked. Encourage your gut microbiome to thrive and this will also help your skin microbiome to flourish.
How can you do this? Your diet plays a significant role. Foods that are rich in fiber, such as beans and lentils, are great for feeding the beneficial bacteria in the gut. Eating plenty of fermented foods can help too. These contain probiotics, giving your gut a greater diversity of beneficial bacteria.
Your lifestyle impacts your gut microbiome too. Stress, a lack of exercise, and sleep deprivation will all interfere with your gut’s beneficial bacteria. Keep your lifestyle as healthy and balanced as possible if you want your gut and, therefore, your skin, to thrive.
Be Diligent About Sun Protection
Last but not least, let’s talk about UV rays. We already mentioned how they can affect both growth and diversity when it comes to the beneficial bacteria in your skin’s microbiome. As a result, keeping your skin protected from the sun will go a long way in allowing your skin microbiome to function efficiently.
This means ensuring that your skin is always covered with SPF during the day. A minimum SPF of 30 is essential, and make sure that you use a broad-spectrum formula too. This indicates that it will protect against both UVA and UVB rays.
It’s important to remember that SPF needs to be worn in the winter as well. Although UV rays might not be quite as intense in the winter as they are in the summer, they’re still more than capable of causing damage, not just to your skin microbiome but also to other aspects of your complexion.
Summary
As you can see, your skin microbiome is hugely influential when it comes to the overall health of your skin. Pay your microbiome some extra attention and you’ll likely notice that your skin soon starts to look brighter and more radiant. Follow the tips that we’ve shared above and it won’t be long before your skin feels healthier than ever!