All-in-one Skin Microbiome Sampling & Analysis for Beauty Brands

Awareness of the importance of a healthy, balanced skin microbiome for not only skin wellness but whole-body wellness has escalated in recent years, spurring a revolution in product and ingredient formulation innovation, at-home and clinical diagnostics, and consumer awareness.

Microbiome dysbiosis is beauty’s new watchword, impacting common skin ailments such as acne, eczema, atopic dermatitis, rosacea and psoriasis, among others.

“The human body is home to trillions of microorganisms, collectively known as the microbiome,” says Brice LeFrancoise, Ph.D., senior R&D manager, DNA Genotek. “Recent studies have emphasized the significance of the skin microbiome in maintaining a healthy skin. Comprising diverse bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms, the skin microbiome acts as a dynamic ecosystem that plays a crucial role in protecting and nourishing the skin. When the microbial community is in equilibrium, it acts as a natural defense, helping to shield the skin from harmful pathogens and environmental stressors. A disrupted balance, on the other hand, may contribute to various skin issues, including acne, eczema, and premature aging. For example, inflammatory acne is suggested to be triggered by an imbalance in the skin microbiota associated with a specific strain of Cutibacterium acnes (C. acnes). An unbalanced microbiome can provide an opportunity for a microbe to proliferate at the detriment of the host’s skin.”

This opens a clear pathway for new marketing claims and escalating demands for efficacy. In fact, in 2023 Mintel^a noted that 53% of U.S. beauty and personal care consumers research beauty ingredients to understand product effectiveness.

To meet this demand, suppliers and brands will need to invest in high-efficacy technologies and do their due diligence when it comes to claims substantiation. This goes double for any products with a microbiome wellness dimension.

“Traditional skin care products have the potential to disrupt the skin’s microbial balance,” says LeFrancoise, “possibly leading to issues. In contrast, cosmetic formulations with ingredients that not only respect but actively support the microbiome to offer a more symbiotic approach to overall skin health. Understanding the unique composition of one’s microbiome has led to a rise in personalized skin care approaches. Microbiome profiling now has potential to help tailor cosmetics to individuals’ needs to better support the specific needs of their skin’s microbial community. By recognizing that everyone’s microbiome is unique, the beauty industry is moving beyond generic skin care solutions and embracing a more personalized and effective approach.”

Improving Consumer At-home Sampling

In the age of personalized beauty, an increasing number of companies have begun to offer at-home skin microbiome sampling programs to either recommend skin care regimens featuring existing products or to formulate unique products for individual users.

The quality and ease of that sampling system is critical to any successful program.

Pennsylvania-based OraSure Technologies, Inc.—has developed optimized tools that can support brands pursuing consumer microbiome testing or R&D initiatives through their subsidiaries DNA Genotek, Inc. and Diversigen, Inc.

DNA Genotek’s OMNIgene®•SKIN all-in-one system for easy self-collection and stabilization of microbial DNA readily supports skin microbiome profiling for consumers.

“The OMNIgene®•SKIN device was developed and validated for the collection of the skin microbiome from all skin sites—sebaceous, moist and dry—and shown to collect large quantities of skin microbes,” says LeFrancoise. “Combined with a solution to stabilize bacterial and fungal profiles at point-of-collection, the OMNIgene®•SKIN device eliminates the need for immediate freezer storage and cold-chain transport with up to 30 days ambient temperature stability. Additionally, the OMNIgene®•SKIN device provides intuitive and validated instructions to improve consumer use during sampling to maximize sample success.”

Optimal for all skin types, the system allows for collection from dry, wet or sebaceous skin sites anywhere on the body.

Better Microbiome Sampling for Beauty R&D

The OMNIgene®•SKIN device provides intuitive and validated instructions to improve consumer use during sampling to maximize sample success.DNA Genotek/DiversigenBrand product innovation teams are also increasingly leveraging sampling to optimize and confirm efficacy claims.

Diversigen’s sequencing and bioinformatic platform supports personalized skin microbiome researchers for the development and optimization of skin-friendly beauty and personal care.

It can also support the development and validation of new microbiome-supporting ingredient technologies.

The platform is optimized for low biomass samples such as skin and allows innovation teams to gain further insights into personal microbiome communities.

This understanding can be leveraged to support the development of products that promote microbiome balance for healthy skin and/or resolve skin dysbiosis-related ailments such as acne, atopic dermatitis and more.

Better insights into regenerative microbiome communities can also support wound- and tissue-healing claims.

“The composition of the skin microbiome can be directly influenced by the application of skin products and by dermatological diseases,” says LeFrancoise. “However, the unique properties of skin require specialized methods to accurately interpret the microbiome. Diversigen’s team of scientists developed the skin microbiome service to facilitate skin microbiome research and product development using optimized methods to generate accurate microbial profiles despite the inherent low microbial biomass of skin samples. Diversigen’s optimized high-throughput extraction method reduces bias and recovers 100x more DNA than conventional methods to improve yields and downstream performance of low biomass skin samples provided by consumers. By utilizing 16S V1-V3 amplicon sequencing and innovative bioinformatics, the skin microbiome service accurately identifies keystone species involved in skin health and disease.”

The Future of Skin Health

The beauty and personal care brands that are likely to succeed in today’s increasingly competitive market will be those that can:

• Demonstrate efficacy and proven claims
• Offer personalized beauty and personal care solutions
• Generate new and innovative products

Scan this code to begin your microbiome beauty journey.OraSureIn each case, best-in-class microbiome sampling and analysis will be the difference-maker.

From at-home consumer testing to R&D product research and development, OraSure’s platforms can take brand innovation and customer intimacy to the next level.

LeFrancoise concludes, “Best-in-class skin microbiome data allows for a comprehensive analysis of the diverse microorganisms inhabiting the skin. This data provides insights into the abundance, diversity, and balance of bacteria, fungi and other microbes, offering a nuanced understanding of the skin’s microbial landscape. By leveraging this knowledge, skin care can now be tailored to personal needs and skin microbiome friendly products can be developed to support healthy skin.”

Here’s how to get started: https://www.diversigen.com/skin-microbiome-profiling/

FOOTNOTE

^awww.mintel.com/insights/beauty-and-personal-care/beauty-trends/

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