How to protect and restore your skin bacteria
What is the skin biome
Ailments caused by skin biome upset
AOB (Ammonia oxidizing bacteria)
AOB are the secret to a healthier skin
How to protect the bacteria already in your skin biome
How to restore bacteria into your skin biome
What is the skin biome
Every adult has more than two kilograms (four pounds) of microorganisms in their digestive tract, on their skin, in the eyes, ears, nose, genitals and throughout the body. This biome of microorganisms is absolutely essential for you good physical and mental health. You need them for proper digestion, for the production of many vitamins and other nutrients, for protection from harmful microorganisms, and for the working of many systems in the body, particularly your immune system.
People who had a vaginal birth (as opposed to a C-section), who were breast fed, who grew up on a farm, who had pets, who were allowed to root around on the ground as young children, and most importantly, who were never given any antibiotics, tend to be slim, happy, healthy and have excellent immune systems. Children who had antibiotics and who grew up in clean, protected environments tend to have weak immune systems, and suffer from numerous modern diseases ranging from asthma to allergies to digestive problems to eczema to autism.
For many years, I have recommended that you eat a variety of probiotic foods like sauerkraut, kefir, kombucha, rejuvelac and natto miso. A probiotic-rich diet helps correct the damage, strengthen your digestion and immune system, and get things back to a healthy normal.
In the same way that our gut requires a healthy balance of bacteria and other microorganisms, the skin has an elaborate ecosystem called the skin biome. Our skin biome starts the moment we are born, passed down to us from our mothers, and is constantly evolving throughout our lives from our environment, interaction with animals, soil, plants and lifestyle. However, the way we live today makes it difficult for many beneficial microorganisms to survive on the skin. Chlorinated water, washing with soap, obsession with cleanliness and sterility, modern hygiene and lifestyles strip the skin of its natural biome. Urban living has made it difficult for us to maintain or re-establish beneficial skin bacteria that we would be regularly exposed to in nature or living as hunter-gatherers.
Ailments caused by skin biome upset
Here are some of the skin diseases caused by a bacterial and fungal imbalance of the skin biome:
- Acne.
- Body odour.
- Cellulitis.
- Cradle cap.
- Diaper (nappy) rash.
- Dandruff.
- Dermatitis.
- Eczema.
- Flaking skin.
- Fungal infections like athlete's foot, tinea, jock itch, ringworm, peeling, itching and smelly skin
- Hives.
- Inflammation.
- Itching.
- Keratosis.
- Large pores.
- Psoriasis.
AOB (Ammonia oxidizing bacteria)
Ammonia oxidizing bacteria include Nitrosomonas, Nitrosococcus, Nitrobacter, Nitrococcus and others. They get their energy from the oxidation of inorganic nitrogen compounds. We need them on our skin because they convert ammonia, urea and other nitrogen-containing skin irritants into beneficial nitric oxide and nitrites. Nitrites help keep harmful bacteria in check and nitric oxide is an antioxidant that helps reduce any skin inflammation and keep the skin healthy.
Sweat contains urea and ammonia, and if there is not sufficient AOB on the skin, these irritants can become quite concentrated. Nearly all of the skin can sweat, with the highest density of sweat glands being on the scalp, underarms, palms, groin and feet.
AOB are a truly beneficial group of skin bacteria. I could not find any reports of AOB infection causing any kind of illness or disease. They are not virulent - quite the opposite. The amount of sweat the body produces naturally regulates their population. Without enough sweat in a given area, the AOBs will die (sadly). The regulation of their numbers by your own sweat production keeps them strictly in check.
AOB are particularly sensitive to chemicals found in today's soaps, detergents, personal care products and preservatives. A single wash using a modern soap can wipe out all the AOB on the body part washed. People who regularly lather themselves all over are probably totally deficient in all AOB. There are plenty of scientific studies confirming that people who regularly and thoroughly use soap have all kinds of skin problems.
In previous generations, our ancestors did not use soaps and other products as frequently as we do today (if they used them at all). In the old days if they did use a soap and wipe out the AOB, they were quickly replaced. Most people lived and worked on the soil as there were many more farmers in previous generations. Even those living in towns and cities had a garden out the back, so healthy lifestyles working and playing outside soon replaced the AOB.
AOB are the secret to a healthier skin
AOB are one of the most important components of a healthy skin biome but unfortunately, the widespread use of soaps, deodorants and other personal care products along with excessive hygiene has wiped out most of these sensitive and easily-destroyed bacteria. The key to a healthy skin is restoring your skin biome back to a native, healthy state.
AOB are also required to help balance the ecosystem of your skin as a whole. They are so influential that they only need to be present in small numbers to have a check and balance effect on your skin's entire microbial ecosystem.
How to protect the bacteria already in your skin biome
- Shower less frequently, for shorter periods, and definitely don't lather all over. Two or three showers per week should be adequate for most adults, depending on the climate, season, and lifestyle. If you think you smell, try using a natural deodorant (not an anti-perspirant) more often. Your diet will affect your body odour.
- Get a shower filter. Hardware stores and health shops sell basic chlorine filters with replaceable filters. Some are even reversible. Chlorine is the main chemical that they remove, so you are no longer damaging your skin and breathing in chlorine with every shower.
- Use a bathrobe, and don't wash it too often. Wear it before a shower, have your shower, then put it on after you have showered and dried. If you have healthy bacteria on your skin, that old robe will help re-seed them after your shower.
- Swim in clean lakes and rivers if any are available. Pools use chlorine to kill micro-organisms that build up, so they kill your resident skin flora as well. Healthy lakes and rivers (no stagnant water) have a more balanced ecosystem with a variety of competing micro-organisms.
- Stop using antibacterial soaps and any other personal care products that harm your skin biome. Many lotions contain alcohol, essential oils and other antibacterial ingredients.
- Snuggle. Get close and personal with those that you love, especially if they root around in the garden and have a healthy skin. Share your skin bacteria with those around you, including pets.
- Get outside and in the sun. Expose you skin to the sun regularly.
How to restore bacteria into your skin biome
One way to get healthy bacteria and other microorganisms on your skin is by regularly working in an established garden. Getting healthy soil on your hands and feet and not being too hasty about scrubbing it off is a good start. Hopefully the soil is organic and healthy.
With all the interest in the microbiome at present, almost every university is busy investigating the health properties of different bacteria and fungi. They are also starting to discover and select the bacteria that have important and useful properties. One day in the not too distant future, you will be able to take a dose of bacteria to treat nearly any disease. For example, if you had a dose of pink eye (conjunctivitis) rather than taking antibiotic eye drops, you would take probiotic eye drops that contain the bacteria from a healthy eye. (Note: the quickest, most effective treatment for pink eye, getting the most votes on the Grow Youthful list of ailments, is apple cider vinegar).
The first probiotic skin spray with added skin bacteria is now available. You can spray it onto your skin to treat a wide range of conditions that are caused by an imbalance or damage to the skin biome.