In recent years there has been a growth in understanding about skin’s microbiome and the important part it plays in skin health.
The skin’s microbiome is the community of microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, viruses, and mites, that naturally exist on the surface of your skin.
It might seem a bit icky, but they’re invisible to the naked eye and are essential to keeping your skin calm, resilient and radiant.
The microbes protect against harmful bacteria and infections, supporting the skin’s barrier function, helping regulate inflammation and keeping skin’s pH balanced.
An imbalanced skin microbiome, where one type or more gets out of whack, can contribute dryness, sensitivity, acne, or eczema. These conditions can be hard to figure out, so working to improve skin’s microbiome is a step in the right direction.
Just like popping a probiotic, sipping kombucha or adding sauerkraut to your meal for gut health, nourishing your skin’s microbiome starts with beneficial skincare. This can be done with specific serums, as well as simple, hydrating products designed to help your skin’s protective barrier.
What is your scalp microbiome?
So far, so good and you may have heard much of the above before. But did you know your scalp has its own microbiome?
It makes sense, given scalp is just an extension of the skin on your face, but it’s also the factory that grows your hair. That means if the scalp’s microbiome is unbalanced it can cause wider issues with the strength and appearance of your strands.
One study shows the scalp’s microbiome differs from the microbiomes of other skin areas due to the high density of hair follicles and sebaceous glands.
But just like the skin on the rest of your body, the scalp’s microbiome helps protect against harmful microbes that can cause dandruff or irritation.
It also maintains a healthy oil (sebum) balance so hair doesn’t end up excessively greasy or leave scalp feeling taut and dry.
Finally and most importantly to a lot of people, the microbiome can influence hair growth and as the potential to lead to hair thinning.
What can throw your scalp microbiome out?
Over-washing, harsh shampoos, stress, hormonal changes and even dietary changes are some of the things that can throw the natural balance off course.
Likewise overdoing the dry shampoo or styling products and not cleansing them out properly will have an impact on the scalp condition.
If your scalp is very dry or sensitive, avoid allowing heated styling tools too close to it while in use.
Scalp support: Joico Scalp Vitality Refreshing Shampoo; Joico Scalp Vitality Exfoliating Foaming Scrub; Joico Scalp Vitality Replenishing Essence; Happy Hair Sensory Sensitive Hair Brush; Kérastase Spécifique Potentialiste Balancing Scalp Serum
How to nourish your scalp
Given we now know how important the area is, embracing a dedicated product or two for your scalp-care routine doesn’t seem like as much of a challenge.
The products in this area extend the approach and beneficial ingredients of skincare to caring for your scalp, so you’ll see some familiar names like hyaluronic acid, proteins+ and plant oils.
If you have a sensitive or flaky scalp in particular, look out for a range formulated to help.
We like Joico’s new Scalp Vitality range for this reason. It has a shampoo and two targeted treatment products that can be used alone or in conjunction. The range uses plenty of natural ingredients such as nettle and rosehip oil to support hair and scalp, but is also formulated to be scalp-microbiome-friendly.
Scalp scrubs are a newer approach to scalp care, designed to help clear out the gunk and dead skin cells around follicles. You generally massage into the scalp for a minute or two and rinse away before shampooing.
What we like about Joico’s Exfoliating Foaming Scrub is that the foam distributes well and though it also includes a physical scrub to stimulate and deep cleanse the scalp, it isn’t too rough or gritty.
The spray-on Replenishing Essence is intended for those with very dry or itchy scalps and helps restore microbiome balance so these issues are well managed.
Another option is to look for a scalp serum that gives a concentrated dose of useful ingredients intended to give extra moisture. This is an easy option as many can be applied with a dropper directly onto scalp and massaged in with the fingertips and don’t have to be rinsed away.
