Prev page Next page Back to Blog
Our guide to postbiotics

In this article, we will be continuing our article series on the -biotic family members, and this time we will take a closer look at the postbiotics. We will review the main functions and purpose of the postbiotics, as well as explore if this group has any positive impact on our overall health and skin?

What is postbiotics

In simple terms, postbiotics are substances produced by microorganisms. A slightly more complex definition reveals that postbiotics are a complex mixture of metabolic products that are produced by probiotics such as live bacteria and yeasts.  Postbiotics are generated in fermentation processes, where the microorganisms are producing various beneficial substances, or after lysis (breaking of the cell structure) of the microorganisms. Postbiotics are also produced naturally in the intestine or on the skin.

When it comes to skincare, the most common postbiotic ingredients used in cosmetics contain substances produced by lactic acid bacteria from the genus lactobacillus and or yeasts, especially various Saccharomyces species. The substances produced by the microorganisms are collected and separated from the living cells. The postbiotic substances include but are not limited to important vitamins, amino acids, peptides, fatty acids and various polysaccharides.

Why are postbiotics good for our skin and health?

Postbiotics are shown to have a positive impact on our skin health. In the literature, postbiotics have been reported to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative, and immunomodulatory action, besides promoting a more a diverse and balanced microbiome.

Postbiotics have historically been studied more in terms of gut health, but in recent years, their use on the skin has been studied more extensively. Bacterial extracts have proven to be efficient in alleviating acne and eczema conditions, other studies have reported that postbiotic ingredient had a positive impact on skin repair processes, soothing, anti-reddening effect, as well as anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial and anti-ageing activities.

Furthermore, postbiotics have been shown to improve the skin barriera nd accelerating the epidermal renewal. Some postbiotic ingredients are known for their antimicrobial properties and abilities to inhibit various bacteria that can be pathogenic, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. Interestingly, the most relevant inhibitory effect was shown against acne causing bacteria.

Postbiotics in our daily life

The nutritional products that naturally increase postbiotic substances in our body are cottage cheese, high fibre foods (oats, product seaweed, and garlic), fermented pickles, kimchi, kombucha, sauerkraut and yogurt.

When it comes to cosmetics, the majority of postbiotics that are on the market are derived from bacteria, most commonly – lactic acid bacteria, Lactobacillus genera. The great part consists of lysates, from which the most known are organic acids, polysaccharides, peptides and various compounds from the bacteria and yeast cells. To sum up, when looking out for postbiotics in skincare products, we would suggest looking for ferment or lysate components. A couple of examples would include lactobacillus ferment, lactobacillus lysate, and Bifidobacterium lysate.

ingredients

Postbiotics in Skinome products

Our products contain two types of postbiotic ingredients - Lactobacillus ferment and Lactobacillus (rice ferment).

Lactobacillus ferment

Used in our products to moisturize the skin and prevent the growth of bad bacteria. This ferment is found in our Mineral and Sensitive Cleanser.

Lactobacillus (rice ferment)

A patented postbiotic ingredient that has anti-inflammatory properties, helps bind moisture in the skin, strengthens the skin's immune system and balances the natural skin flora. This ingredient is found in our Light Emulsion.

FIND OUT MORE

References

Abbasi, A., Hajipour, N., Hasannezhad, P., Baghbanzadeh, A., & Aghebati-Maleki, L. (2020). Potential in vivo delivery routes of postbiotics. Critical reviews in food science and nutrition, 1-39. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2020.1865260

Ácsová, A., Hojerová, J., & Martiniaková, S. (2022). Efficacy of postbiotics against free radicals and UV radiation. Chemical Papers, 76(4), 2357-2364.
Canonici, A.; Siret, C.; Pellegrino, E.; Pontier-Bres, R.; Pouyet, L.; Montero, M.P.; Colin, C.; Czerucka, D.; Rigot, V.; Andre, F. Saccharomyces boulardii improves intestinal cell restitution through activation of the alpha2beta1 integrin collagen receptor. PLoS ONE 2011, 6, e18427

Coppola, S., Avagliano, C., Sacchi, A., Laneri, S., Calignano, A., Voto, L., Luzzetti, A., & Berni Canani, R. (2022). Potential Clinical Applications of the Postbiotic Butyrate in Human Skin Diseases. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 27(6), 1849. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules27061849

Duarte, M., Oliveira, A.L., Oliveira, C. et al. Current postbiotics in the cosmetic market-an update and development opportunities. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 106, 5879-5891 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-022-12116-5

Fournière M, Latire T, Souak D, Feuilloley MGJ, Bedoux G (2020) Staphylococcus epidermidis and Cutibacterium acnes: two major sentinels of skin microbiota and the influence of cosmetics. Microorganisms 8(11):1-31. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorgan isms8 111752

Hernández-Granados, M., & Franco-Robles, E. (2020). Postbiotics in human health: Possible new functional ingredients? Food Research International, 137, 109660

Nasim Golkar, Yousef Ashoori, Reza Heidari, Navid Omidifar, Seyedeh Narjes Abootalebi, Milad Mohkam, Ahmad Gholami, "A Novel Effective Formulation of Bioactive Compounds for Wound Healing: Preparation, In Vivo Characterization, and Comparison of Various Postbiotics Cold Creams in a Rat Model", Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, vol. 2021, Article ID 8577116, 13 pages, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/8577116

Nataraj, B. H., Ali, S. A., Behare, P. V., & Yadav, H. (2020). Postbiotics-parabiotics: the new horizons in microbial biotherapy and functional foods. Microbial cell factories, 19(1), 168. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12934-020-01426-w

Scarpellini, E., Rinninella, E., Basilico, M., Colomier, E., Rasetti, C., Larussa, T., Santori, P., & Abenavoli, L. (2021). From Pre- and Probiotics to Post-Biotics: A Narrative Review. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(1), 37. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19010037

What Are Postbiotics? (2021, November 22) Cleveland Clinic. https://health.clevelandclinic.org/postbiotics/

Żółkiewicz, J., Marzec, A., Ruszczyński, M., & Feleszko, W. (2020). Postbiotics-A Step Beyond Pre- and Probiotics. Nutrients, 12(8), 2189. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12082189

SKIN ACADEMY