By Ross Pelton, RPh, PhD, CCN
Your skin is a complex ecosystem that is populated by a wide range of bacteria that constitutes your skin microbiome. Many cosmetics and traditional skin care products disrupt the skin’s microbiome and remove important compounds that regulate the health of the skin.
The skin is actually the body’s largest organ and it has a number of important functions such as regulation of body temperature, moisture, excretion of toxins and the manufacture of vitamin D. The skin is also a sensory organ that responds to temperature, pressure, vibration and injury. In addition to these functions, the skin is also an important part of our immune system, which protects us from external pathogens.
Winter months are especially hard on your skin because winter air is dryer, wind and central heating also add to the problem. People who live in geographical locations that traditionally have lower levels of humidity, such as the desert regions of the south and southwest can also suffer from overly dry skin.
Many skin care products can actually create more problems for the skin. For example, many cleansers remove the natural skin oils from your skin which can cause dry, irritated or sensitized skin. Some oil-based cleansers can appear to be removing makeup effectively, but leave a residue behind that clogs your pores. Also, certain ingredients in “nourishing” cleansers leave a film or seal on the skin which contributes to drying and interferes with the skin’s natural regeneration processes.
Your Skin’s Microbiome: Bacteria inhabit every square inch of your skin and consist of your skin’s microbiome. Just as the probiotic bacteria in your gastrointestinal tract regulate many aspects of your health, the friendly bacteria on your skin play a critical role in maintaining the health of your skin. One of the problems with many synthetic cleansers and moisturizers is that they contain chemicals that disrupt the skin’s delicate microbiome.
During the multi-year fermentation process used in the production of Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics®, the bacteria produce a wide range of compounds that we call postbiotic metabolites. As mentioned above, many of these compounds are weak acids classified as short chain fatty acids such as acetic, lactic, propionic and butyric acids and also amino acids and other organic acids. These acidic compounds, which are postbiotic metabolites produced by probiotic bacteria in the intestinal tract, are a critical part of our human immune system.
Dr. Ohhira’s probiotic skin care products contain all-natural ingredients; they contain no fragrances, stabilizers, deodorants, preservatives or artificial colors.
Health of Your Skin:
Maintaining healthy skin is a critical component of maintaining overall good health. Healthy skin has an acid/base balance (or pH) that is slightly acidic. In the world of chemistry, acid/base levels are measured on a scale of 1-14, with 1 being highly acidic, 14 being highly alkaline, and 7 is neutral. The acid/base level of healthy skin is considered to range between 5.5 to 6.4, which is slightly acidic.
The body produces a number of acidic compounds such as lactic acid, amino acids and fatty acids, which are either excreted through the skin or are part of the skin. These compounds help maintain the proper level of acidity for healthy skin. This is very similar to the situation in the gastrointestinal tract where our probiotic bacteria produce similar acidic postbiotic metabolites, which help maintain the optimal level of acidity for a healthy microbiome in the intestinal tract.
pH Balance for Healthy Skin: Proper acid/base balance is critical for healthy skin. Dr. Ohhira’s skin care products contain Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotic extract with postbiotic metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids, organic acids, nucleic acids and fulvic acids, which to help support and maintain skin’s proper microbiome’s pH balance thus promote healthy, supple skin.
Dr. Ohhira’s Kampuku™ Beauty Bar for Face & Body is in a base consisting of fatty acid salts of coconut and palm oils. These natural ingredients function as mild detergents to cleanse the skin. The Kampuku Beauty Bar also contains some of Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics, which contain short-chain fatty acids and various other weak organic acids. These mildly acidic postbiotic metabolites in Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics help to maintain an optimal acid/base balance in both the intestinal microbiome and on the skin microbiome. The primary attributes of Dr. Ohhira’s Kampuku Beauty Bar are:
- Protects and supports healthy pH balance for your skin’s microbiome
- Promotes maintenance of strong collagen fibers and skin elasticity
- Helps maintain healthy acid/base balance on your skin
- Adds healthy postbiotic metabolites to your skin
Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotic Magoroku™ Skin Lotion is in an equine oil base. Equine oil is a very unique substance when it comes to skin care products. Equine oil comes from pure, high-quality horse fat which consists of a fatty acid composition that is closest to human skin oil and allows your skin to easily absorb the all-natural ingredients in Magoroku Skin Lotion.
Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotic Magoroku Skin Lotion helps maintain the skin’s natural permeability and provides superior moisturizing effects for your skin. By moisturizing the skin and maintaining the skin’s optimal pH balance, Magoroku Skin Lotion enhances the integrity of collagen fibers and the skin’s elasticity. This results in skin that has a healthy, vibrant appearance. The primary attributes of Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotic Magoroku Skin Lotion are:
- Maintains healthy skin pH by supplying Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotic extract with postbiotic organic acids, short-chain fatty acids, nucleic acids, fulvic acids
- Supports the integrity of collagen fibers and skin elasticity
- Helps promote and maintain the skin’s healthy barrier protective function
- Promotes a more youthful, vibrant-looking skin
Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotic Hadayubi™ Lavender Moisturizer is a facial moisturizer that promotes healthy skin by delivering Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics and postbiotic metabolites which promote an optimal acid/base balance and a healthy microbiome on the skin. Dr. Ohhira’s Hadayubi Lavender Moisturizer is also in an equine oil base which allows easy absorption of the all-natural ingredients. The primary attributes of Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotic Hadayubi Lavender Moisturizer are:
- Contains Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotic extract with the same all-natural ingredients contained in Magoruku Moisturizing Lotion in equine oil base for superior moisturizing effects for your skin
- Maintains healthy skin pH by supplying Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotic extract with postbiotic organic acids, short-chain fatty acids, nucleic acids, fulvic acids
- Supports the integrity of collagen fibers and skin elasticity
- Helps promote and maintain the skin’s healthy barrier protective function
- Promotes a more youthful, vibrant-looking skin
- Contains lavender essential oils which promotes relaxation and stress reduction.
HEALTHY SKIN MICROBIOME: Many of the same acids are secreted through the skin. These acids help maintain a healthy skin microbiome and are an important part of the immune system in and on the skin. Another category of postbiotic metabolites that are produced by your probiotic bacteria both in the intestinal tract and on your skin, are called antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). These compounds are natural antibiotics which suppress the growth of pathogens but do not harm your beneficial bacteria.
POSTBIOTIC METABOLITES: After years of fermentation, the resulting black paste-like product is encapsulated to become Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics®. Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics® are actually a fermented food product that contains a multitude of postbiotic metabolites. It is the postbiotic metabolites that regulate many aspects of the immune system and many other biological activities.
DR. OHHIRA’S SKIN CARE PRODUCTS: At the end of the fermentation process in the production of Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics®, some of the final product is utilized in the production of Dr. Ohhira’s skin care products, which are the Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotic Kampuku Beauty Bar soap and Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotic Magoroku skin lotion. It is not the probiotic bacteria that give Dr. Ohhira’s skin care products their unique benefits, it is the unique blend of postbiotic metabolites produced by the bacteria during the multi-year fermentation process.
Dr. Ohhira’s® Premium Collagen Plus was a mindfully crafted, distinctive water-soluble supplement designed to replenish the suppleness of your skin and boost the performance of your joints.* This specialized formula contains hand-selected ingredients from the purest sources to provide you with optimal and visible results.
MAINTAINING HEALTHY SKIN: Compared to healthy skin, unhealthy skin is partially dehydrated, undergoes increased free radical damage, and contains lower amounts of fatty acids and collagen and also has a slower rate of cellular renewal.
Skin care science has discovered that healthy skin depends on maintaining proper skin pH and a healthy skin microbiome. Dr. Ohhira’s skin care products are formulated with all-natural ingredients plus the postbiotic metabolites contained in Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics®. No other skin care products contain postbiotic metabolites. Manufacturers of other skin care products and other probiotic products don’t understand the important role that postbiotic metabolites play in maintaining the optimal pH levels and maintaining a healthy microbiome, both on the skin and in the intestinal tract.
At Essential Formulas®, we frequently get calls from customers who tell us that they noticed an improvement in the softness, texture, hydration and overall appearance of their skin shortly after beginning to use Dr. Ohhira’s skin care products.
Adaptogen is a word that originated in the natural products industry. The term is used to describe products that normalize function. Many of the postbiotic metabolites produced by probiotic bacteria could be classified as adaptogens. For example, if your intestinal tract is too alkaline, the short-chain fatty acid postbiotic metabolites will decrease the alkalinity. This makes the GI tract slightly more acidic and normalizes the acid/base level. On the other hand, if your intestinal tract is too acidic, the same postbiotic metabolites will help to make the environment slightly more alkaline.
Both Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotics and Dr. Ohhira’s skin care products contain the postbiotic metabolites that are produced during the multi-year fermentation production process. As explained above, many of these compounds are adaptogenic. Therefore, Dr. Ohhira’s skin care products can be thought of as adaptogenic skin care products. They help to normalize your skin by helping to maintain optimal levels of skin hydration, acid/base balance, production of the skin’s antimicrobial peptides, and support the maintenance of a healthy skin microbiome.
We urge you to support the appearance and the health of your skin by using Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotic Kampuku Beauty Bar soap and Dr. Ohhira’s Probiotic Magoroku skin lotion. These products are safe and mild, yet they are powerful in their ability to help support and maintain healthy skin.
Dr. Ohhira’s products bring you the finest probiotics and skin care products. Only Dr. Ohhira’s products deliver health-promoting postbiotic metabolites.
