Rethinking Clean
I recently came across some information from a company called Mother Dirt that I thought was interesting enough to share. The company has developed a line of skin care products, one of which is to deliver bacteria to the skin. Essentially it is probiotics for the skin and the reasoning behind it is based in some interesting science. We commonly see results with the use of probiotics for our gastrointestinal system, so it would make sense that probiotics for our external environment is important too.
The external microbiota
It is a subject that doesn’t get too much attention, but there exists on our skin a “skin microbiome” or “cutaneous microbiome” that protects us. Our skin is our bodies largest organ and modern man’s skin biome has become sterile rather than clean due to our near obsessive use of anti-microbial soaps, deodorants, shampoos and daily showers. All skin and hair products have preservatives in them and this keeps them free of bacteria and gives them a long shelf life but kills the beneficial bacteria on our skin...