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Review
. 2024 Aug 2;16(15):2526.
doi: 10.3390/nu16152526.

Cosmeceuticals: A Review of Clinical Studies Claiming to Contain Specific, Well-Characterized Strains of Probiotics or Postbiotics

Ioannis M Theodorou  1 , Dorothea Kapoukranidou  2 , Markos Theodorou  3 , Joulia K Tsetis  3 , Alexandra Eleftheria Menni  4 , Georgios Tzikos  4 , Stella Bareka  4 , Anne Shrewsbury  4 , George Stavrou  5 , Katerina Kotzampassi  1
Affiliations
Review

Cosmeceuticals: A Review of Clinical Studies Claiming to Contain Specific, Well-Characterized Strains of Probiotics or Postbiotics

Ioannis M Theodorou et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

The skin serves as a critical barrier against external threats-dehydration, ultraviolet exposure, and infections-playing a significant role in internal homeostasis and moisture retention. Additionally, and equally importantly, it interacts dynamically with the complex microbiome resident in it, which is essential for maintaining skin health. Recent interest has focused on the use of probiotics and postbiotics, besides their ability to modulate the skin microbiome, to enhance barrier function, and exhibit anti-inflammatory properties, to be involved in skincare, by having the potential to improve skin hydration, elasticity, and overall appearance, as well as in reducing signs of aging, such as wrinkles and fine lines. The products-being a combination of a cosmetic regime plus probiotic[s] or postbiotic[s]-are named cosmeceuticals. However, to comply with the regulations for the characterization of a microorganism as a specific probiotic strain, the pro- or postbiotics incorporated into the cosmetic regime should be both genetically and phenotypically defined. Thus, in this review, we present 14 published clinical trials using such cosmetic products with specific, well-characterized strains of probiotics or postbiotics applied to volunteers with healthy skin. Looking at the results of these studies collectively, we can say that these genetically and phenotypically defined strains of either live or inanimate bacteria and/or their components seem to keep the treated skin at least fully hydrated, with intact epithelial tone, increased radiance, and with decreased wrinkle depth, while normalizing the commensal skin microbiota. Future advancements in personalized skin care may lead to genomic sequencing and metabolomics to tailor probiotic and postbiotic treatments to individual skin microbiomes, promising a new frontier in cosmeceuticals.

Keywords: cosmeceuticals; dermocosmetics; postbiotics; probiotics; skin health; topical use.

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Conflict of interest statement

Authors Markos Theodorou and Joulia K. Tsetis were employed by the company Uni-Pharma S.A. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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