Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Feb;11(1):71-77.
doi: 10.1007/s13555-020-00476-7. Epub 2020 Dec 19.

Topical Probiotics in Dermatological Therapy and Skincare: A Concise Review

Affiliations
Review

Topical Probiotics in Dermatological Therapy and Skincare: A Concise Review

Katlein França. Dermatol Ther (Heidelb). 2021 Feb.

Abstract

Recent studies have produced an increasing body of evidence that the intestinal microbiome plays an essential role in modulating systemic inflammation and skin diseases. The gut microbiome influences and modulates the host immune system, enabling immune tolerance of environmental and dietary antigens and protecting against pathogens. Emerging scientific evidence has demonstrated that oral probiotics can help treat certain skin diseases, such as acne, atopic dermatitis, photoaging, psoriasis, and wound healing. The aim of this paper is to review the current scientific evidence on topical probiotics and their effects on dermatological diseases and skincare and to clarify if the application of exogenous probiotics could also have the same benefit as oral probiotics in promoting positive bacterial balance to treat dermatologic conditions.

Keywords: Acne; Atopic dermatitis; Dermatologic therapy; Skincare; Topical probiotics; Wound healing.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Gasbarrini G, Bonvicini F, Gramenzi A. Probiotics history. J. Clin. Gastroenterol. 2016;50:S116–S119. doi: 10.1097/MCG.0000000000000697. - DOI - PubMed
    1. van den Elsen LW, Poyntz HC, Weyrich LS, Young W, Forbes-Blom EE. Embracing the gut microbiota: the new frontier for inflammatory and infectious diseases. Clin Transl Immunol. 2017;6(1):e125. doi: 10.1038/cti.2016.91. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Salem I, Ramser A, Isham N, Ghannoum MA. The gut microbiome as a major regulator of the gut–skin axis. Front Microbiol. 2018;9:1459. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.01459. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lee GR, Maarouf M, Hendricks AJ, Lee DE, Shi VY. Topical probiotics: the unknowns behind their rising popularity. Dermatol Online J. 2019;25(5):13030/qt2v83r5wk. - PubMed
    1. Tan AU, Schlosser BJ, Paller AS. A review of diagnosis and treatment of acne in adult female patients. Int J Womens Dermatol. 2017;4(2):56–71. doi: 10.1016/j.ijwd.2017.10.006. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources