A person with their head wrapped in a gray towel is lying down and receiving a green facial mask. A hand is seen applying the mask with a spatula. The person's eyes are closed, and they appear to be relaxed. The background is blurred and neutral.

4 Ways to Deliver Probiotics in Skincare

 

Probiotics are the latest trend in skincare but probiotics are live microbes that have a beneficial effect. How are probiotic ingredients used in skincare products when most skincare products contain preservatives that kill microbes?

 

 

To summarise, in skincare, there are several types of probiotic ingredients, though not all are true probiotics. Types include:

1. Liquid broths in which microbes were grown and then filtered off (BIOME+ level 1).
2. Lysates in which the microbes were inoculated into a nutrient mix. The mix is then filtered off and the remaining microbe cells are broken to extract the cell contents for use (extracts of probiotic cells – BIOME+ level 2).
3. Tyndallised microbes where whole probiotic cells are inactivated by heat and then used in skincare products ( BIOME+ level 3).
4. Live Probiotics where various strains and species of living probiotics, which can grow and divide are added to skincare products (BIOME+ level 4).

Technically, only level 4 probiotics match the definition of a true probiotic, as they are alive.

 

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