Evolving human biology and changing the way we care for our skin.
by Dr. Barbara Brockway
Skin Diligent was born from 4 years of research and study around these booming fields of microbiome and epigenetics.
Most scientific discoveries are like small steps forward (or backward) that gradually expand our knowledge. Sometimes, a milestone is reached: when the sum of these small steps leads to a tipping point in knowledge and reveals a new truth. This new truth may be an instrument, a method, or a scientific law that changes the course of human history.
Imagine for a moment that in the 17th century, Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek lets you look through his microscope at a drop of water taken from a pond. Suddenly, for the first time, you see many tiny, moving creatures, all invisible to the naked eye. The microscope was a window onto a new world and a key phase in the birth of microbiology and our understanding of disease. Its use changed lives, and more than 350 years later, it remains a fundamental piece of equipment in many laboratories.
Leeuwenhoek's microscopes introduced us to a whole new micro-world. Today, DNA technology and the genomics allow us to go even further in discovering new truths, to challenge traditional thinking by generating exciting areas of research, such as the microbiome and epigenetics.
The microbiome
Based on results from culturing microbes on agar plates and other media, it was once thought that the skin harbored only a dozen different types of microbes. In 1976, Kligman and colleagues published a paper stating that " the native skin microflora is simple, and the same organisms are present in all areas, although in very different numbers ." By 2007, scientists knew that the skin microbiome was far from simple. DNA technology had made it possible to amplify, identify, and quantify a very large number of different bacteria, fungi, and viruses from skin samples. It was quickly recognized that these microbial communities impacted skin health.
Our skin is home to a complex microbiome composed of thousands of different bacteria . We now know that the composition of this microbiome is unique and dynamic. Its microbial population fluctuates depending on the external environment and changes in our skin.
Our microbiome is an ecology that acts as an invisible and essential protective shield. It can stifle the harmful effects of harmful substances in the environment, while remaining hostile to opportunistic invasive microbes. Like any ecological system, a healthy microbiome is rich in many different species that interact with each other and, in the case of the skin microbiome, with our skin.
Skin problems can occur when the balance of these different bacterial species begins to shift and a few species take over. This is called dysbiosis. Major imbalances in the skin microbiome population can trigger inflammation, redness, blemishes , and more. It is now clear that the traditional approach of targeting bad microbes such as C. acnes bacteria is flawed. Far from curing the problem, eliminating key species disrupts the ecology and can lead to dysbiosis, making the situation worse .
The new approach to skin care involves working in harmony with our microbiome and rebalancing dysbiosis. This is the Skin Diligent approach: Their products nourish and encourage the biodiversity of the microbiome while meeting the needs of the skin . In this sense, it is a pioneering cosmetics brand.
Epigenetics
Nutrition and lifestyle are particularly important when discussing epigenetics. The Greek prefix epi- in epigenetics means "in addition" to our genetics. In other words, epigenetics refers to the additional molecules added to or associated with our genetic DNA, which control how our genes are activated. Two identical twins (ITTs) share the same DNA, but they are not completely identical. Similarly, the nuclei of almost all of our cells contain the same unique DNA sequences, but our cells can behave differently.
Skin cells, for example, look and function very differently from the cells in our liver. These differences are due to epigenetic changes that control how our DNA (genes) is expressed in each cell type. Epigenetic changes begin very early in the embryo and accumulate with age. They can be influenced by environmental pressures, hence the importance of lifestyle and diet . At the molecular level, epigenetic modifications can be equivalent to on-off "switches" or even adjustable "dimmers."
Some epigenetic changes are transient, while others are permanent. They can be transferred when cells divide. For example, the epigenetic changes that determine whether a cell is a skin cell are passed on to the next generation of skin cells each time it divides. Some epigenetic changes are even transmissible between generations, allowing a molecular memory to be passed on to children and grandchildren.
" The most important concept of epigenetics is that you can take control of your genes ," explains Professor Trygve Tollefsbol, Senior Research Scientist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Active ingredients and nutrients
The field of epigenetics is leading us to take a closer look at how cosmetic actives and nutrients affect gene expression (both our own genes and those in our microbiome). For example, a cosmetic active and nutrient such as vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is generally considered an antioxidant. But vitamin C is much more than its "chemistry." It is an essential nutrient that cannot be replaced by a similar antioxidant. Thanks to new DNA techniques, we are beginning to understand why: vitamin C upregulates the expression of certain proteins, some of which are responsible for initiating essential immune responses.
Since 2011, when the term "epigenetic diet" was first discussed, cosmetic active ingredients and nutrients have been scrutinized for their effects on gene expression. Examples include isothiocyanates in broccoli, genistein in soybeans, and quercetin in berries—bioactive molecules that have positive effects on health by altering gene expression.
Like the microscopic creatures that live in pond water, the microbiome and epigenetics have always been there; all that was missing was the techniques to discover them. And now that we know their importance for skin health and can take control of them, we see Skin Diligent changing the way we care for our skin, supporting it from the inside and out .
Dr. Barbara Brockway
Science Communications Advisor for Skin Diligent
Associate Member and Director of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists.
