Yep, you guessed it, we can also slather them all over our skin and not only treat a range of skin conditions such as eczema, acne and psoriasis, but also create healthy, pH balanced skin that just glows.
Here comes the sciency stuff (just quickly!)…our skin pH is meant to be slightly acidic. On average, ‘healthy skin’ should have a pH of around 4.7, generally around 5 is the ball park. Resident skin micro flora adheres to acidic skin (pH 4-5) whereas alkaline skin (pH 8-9) promotes the dispersal of our flora from our skin leading to dehydration, scaling and other skin conditions.
So What Makes our Skin Alkaline?
Unfortunately, everything. Yes, everything. Especially cosmetics, soaps and other body washes, body creams, sweat and sebum. It has been reported that the use of these products will alter our skin pH for up to six hours, so think about your daily routine for a minute here…get up, shower, maybe wash and condition your hair? Then a little make up maybe? Or perhaps some aftershave for the blokes? Then we head out for the day, probably sweat a little (yay) and then come home, say 8-12 hours later and maybe shower again or wash/cleanse and moisturise our face…then rinse and repeat! Our skin is never being truly able to remain acid enough to replenish and retain our natural flora.
So just like we replenish our gut bacteria we can replenish our skin bacteria too.
But Why is it Reeeaaally that Important?
There is evidence that now demonstrates that the micro-organisms in or on human skin act very much like there gut-dwelling counter parts. They are there to maintain homeostasis (a fancy word for ‘balance’) of the skin microbiome and to fight pathogens. After all, our skin is our biggest organ and our first line of defence when it comes to our immune system. Not only this, changes in skin pH and, subsequently the micro-organisms, are reported to play a role in the pathogenesis of skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis, acne vulgaris, candida albican infections and atopic eczema. Just like changes to our gut microbiome affects these conditions too!
So yes, it is actually quite important we look after our outside army just like we would the guys that live on the inside.
How can I replenish my skin bacteria?
Topical applications of probiotic bacteria have a direct effect at the site of application. Simply put…slip…slop…slap (it ain’t just for sunscreen!) Slip some Apple Cider Vinegar into your bath for a hydrating and relaxing finish to your day. Slop Kultured Wellness Kefir in your face as a balancing toner after removing make up and slap some Kultured Wellness Coconut Yoghurt on your face as a nourishing and up-lifting face mask. All of our products can be used topically on problem areas too such as acne, eczema and dermatitis (just try not to eat yourself while you’re applying all the delicious Kultured glory!)
Have fun nourishing your skin 🙂