Various daily factors, including the foods we eat and drink and the products that we use on our skin and hair influence their health. Radiant skin and sleek hair is something we all desire. In addition to healthy food and correct products, probiotics can have amazing effects on the health of skin and hair. Wondering how? Let’s see!
Probiotics speed up nutrient absorption
“We are what we eat.” Eating a healthy diet help us go a long way and defy aging. Nevertheless, not everyone who eats healthy looks healthy. So, what are we missing? It’s the proper absorption of macro and micronutrients. The friendly gut bacteria help us assimilate more nutrients from our diet. Hence, our skin, hair, and nails get more of the nutrients that they require to be healthy.
Probiotics for Hair: Accelerating Subcuticular Hair Follicle Cycling
Our hair grows in cycles of several phases, called as hair follicle cycling. Stimulating hair follicle beneath the outermost part of the hair shaft (the hair cuticle) during the growth phase results in a robust hair growth. Although mostly limited to animals, some probiotics up-regulate this subcuticular hair follicle cycling, speeding up the hair growth. [1]
Probiotics for Skin and Hair: Moisture & Shine
The beneficial bacteria also stimulate the proliferation of cells that secrete sebum. Sebum is an oily substance that keeps your skin and hair moisturized. [1]
Probiotics for Skin
Skin conditions like rosacea make our skin more dry and dull. Probiotics are effective in alleviating several skin complaints, especially rosacea. Rosacea is a skin disorder characterized by hypersensitive skin causing redness, facial flushing, and acne. Some probiotics elaborate antimicrobial peptides that have demonstrated to be significantly beneficial in individuals with rosacea. [2] In 2013, the American academy of Dermatologists proposed the use of probiotics in treating rosacea. When applied topically on rosacea or acne prone skin, our immune system recognizes probiotics as being foreign and reacts, thus easing inflammation, redness, or bumps.
Rosacea is associated with small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). Because probiotics mitigate SIBO and replenish the healthy gut bacteria, they reduce the skin inflammation in rosacea. [3]
Another common skin ailment is eczema. Eczema is a disorder where patches of skin become inflamed, itchy, red, cracked, and rough. Probiotics add more sebum and oil to the dry eczematous skin while their anti-inflammatory properties attenuate the redness and inflammation.
Probiotics Reduce the pH of the Hair
Our hair requires an acidic pH for luster and health. Alkaline pH increases the friction between the hair fibers via augmenting the negative electrical charge of the hair fiber surface. This may lead to cuticle damage, increasing the frizz and fiber breakage of the hair. Probiotics impart an acidic pH to the hair shaft, reducing the frizz, and increasing the vitality and glow. [1]
Probiotics boost our immune system
We know that people with a healthy immune system have healthy skin and hair. If our immune system is down, our body is vulnerable to sickness and disease. Being unhealthy from inside can never make us (including our skin and hair) look healthy and beautiful. Probiotics fortify our immune system that eventually revives our health and the dull-appearing skin and hair.
Written by:
Dr. Rasheed Huma
References
- Levkovich T, Poutahidis T, Smillie C, et al. Probiotic Bacteria Induce a “Glow of Health.” Kobinger GP, ed. PLoS ONE. 2013;8(1):e53867. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0053867.
- Vemuri RC, Gundamaraju R, Sekaran SD, Manikam R. Major Pathophysiological Correlations of Rosacea: A Complete Clinical Appraisal. International Journal of Medical Sciences. 2015;12(5):387-396. doi:10.7150/ijms.10608.
- Bowe WP, Logan AC. Acne vulgaris, probiotics and the gut-brain-skin axis – back to the future? Gut Pathogens. 2011;3:1. doi:10.1186/1757-4749-3-1.
