How to get naturally healthy skin? Welcome to the great skincare debate!

There’s never been a more confusing time to be a skincare consumer.

It’s not just the number of products and different ‘active ingredients’ that are available to us, it’s also the speed of innovation and rapidly-moving science around skin health.

Whereas a few years back we all thought we were on a proven track with a base routine of cleanse, vit C and sunscreen in the morning, then cleanse, retinoid and moisturise at night, the waters have since been well and truly muddied.

Step in peptides and growth factors, facial fat boosting creams and serums, ‘extreme antioxidants’ like bacillus lysate and ectoin, and now we have skincare systems designed to rewild our skin with ‘smart microbes’ like C.acnes.

Where to begin?

As someone who follows the latest innovations and research around skincare and healthy aging, I regularly find myself in a spin as I try to make sense of it all.

The truth is there are so many gaps in our scientific knowledge right now.

It’s not hard to imagine that in 10, 20 years, these skincare innovations will become more joined up as we understand precisely how the smart microbes on our skin interact with the surrounding cells and the chain of biological processes this may contribute to.

But as skin microbiome expert Dr Thomas Hitchcock explained recently on The Honest Channel, when the microflora in your skin is well balanced it supports our cells in being able to produce sufficient quantities of our own skincare actives including moisturising oils and retinoic acid.

Not fully understood though is whether maintaining a balanced microflora (which is increasingly challenged as we age) is enough to keep skin looking and feeling healthy – and, let’s face it, less lined and saggy.

Or do we need to be looking at adding a combination of smart microbes, growth factors, retinoids and antioxidants to keep our skin in its best possible state? Oh, did I mention in doing that it’s also important to keep the number of preservatives used to a minimum because they can impact the microbiome?

Why should we care about the skin microbiome?

If you’re wondering why the skin microbiome is emerging as something of real importance, the research paper, Living in Your Skin: Microbes, Molecules and Mechanisms, provides a great overview.

Our skin protects us from the environment, including pathogens. But it’s more than a physical barrier – it’s a biological one with a delicate web of microbes, cells and matrix proteins all with important roles to play in maintaining its steady, homeostatic, state.

Our skin also plays an important role in our immune system, and research suggests there is such a thing as a ‘gut-brain-skin axis’, with a cross-directional relationship between them.

A recent article in NewScientist explored this relationship, opening with this bold statement: “Growing evidence suggests that damage to the skin can have knock-on effects for the rest of the body, driving inflammation muscle and bone loss, and possibly even cognitive decline. The more your skin deteriorates, the more the rest of you ages prematurely. In this emerging view, your skin doesn’t just reflect signs of ageing – it’s a contributing factor.”

And another huge question to be is, if we can overdo it in terms of a skincare routine that is too harsh and therefore disruptive to our microbiome, can we also underdo it?

How I try to balance it all

Considering most of the damage to our skin comes from photo-aging, sun protection is an absolute given in my view. And for already very photodamaged skin that’s where the argument that using some kind of resurfacing treatment to try to undo the damage may, although causing initial disruption to the skin’s surface, improve skin health for the longer term.

As for a wider skincare routine, at the moment I am doing a bit of a pick and mix by trying to incorporate the major innovations alongside some of the old classics.

I’m doing this while trying to minimise the number of products I use within my routine, with a focus on avoiding anything that dries my skin. Retinoids do unfortunately have a drying effect but, rather than cut them out entirely, I use a retinal serum twice a week.

My routine involves just rinsing my skin in the morning, before using a few drops of a bacillus lysate serum alongside a fermented oil, followed by a zinc-oxide-based sunscreen.

In the evenings, I use an oil-based cleansing balm before a moisturiser with growth factors and a few drops of oil for added moisture, topped off with a little castor oil around the eyes. I take breaks from the growth factors though, because we just don’t know enough about long-term safety.

I use gentle devices like red light and microcurrent, but avoid the heavy-duty treatments.

And I incorporate a degree of microneedling which, perhaps surprisingly, is not thought to be disruptive to the microbiome.

It’s an anti-aging skincare routine aimed at getting the best of all worlds – so (hopefully) not disturbing my microflora too much while adding a few growth factors and antioxidants in at the same time.

Still a game of trial and error

Have I got my skincare routine absolutely right? I very much doubt it. In 20 years time, I think we’ll all look back and laugh (or cry) at some of the mistakes we’re making right now.

But we can only do the best we can with the knowledge we have.

My beady eyes will be seeking out the very latest research to keep you posted. And the key message for now?

Keep calm, carry on and let your skin health and instinct be your best guide.