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Review
. 2021 Feb 26;26(5):1249.
doi: 10.3390/molecules26051249.

Probiotics in Cosmetic and Personal Care Products: Trends and Challenges

Scarlett Puebla-Barragan  1   2 , Gregor Reid  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Probiotics in Cosmetic and Personal Care Products: Trends and Challenges

Scarlett Puebla-Barragan et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

Probiotics, defined as "live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host," are becoming increasingly popular and marketable. However, too many of the products currently labelled as probiotics fail to comply with the defining characteristics. In recent years, the cosmetic industry has increased the number of products classified as probiotics. While there are several potential applications for probiotics in personal care products, specifically for oral, skin, and intimate care, proper regulation of the labelling and marketing standards is still required to guarantee that consumers are indeed purchasing a probiotic product. This review explores the current market, regulatory aspects, and potential applications of probiotics in the personal care industry.

Keywords: cosmetics; lysates; microbiome; probiotics; skin; vaginal health.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

SPB declares no conflict of interest. GR provides advice to SEED Health which sells a synbiotic product not named in this paper.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The top 30 words used in the claims of cosmetics marketed as probiotics. Word cloud generated using a compilation of the claims of 50 cosmetic products claiming to contain probiotics. Text analysis performed using the rtweet [6] and tm [7] packages in R version 4.0.2.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Debrief of the ingredients listed in 50 cosmetic products. A total of 71 items listed in the ingredients label of the products were included in this analysis; waffle charts depict the proportion of each component as parts of a whole [40]. Panel A shows the frequency in which each microbial component was included. Panel B shows the frequency in which each type of preparation was used in the products analyzed. Generated using R version 4.0.2. Percentages were rounded to the nearest whole number for ease of visualization.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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