Lactobacillus

Lactobacillus is a genus of lactic acid producing probiotic bacteria that live in our gastrointestinal tract. They are utilized in food production with a variety of uses, from creating yogurt to various fermented sauces. You can find them in capsules to support your gastrointestinal health, where the capsules contain freeze-dried, live bacteria.

In skincare products, however, there is no real definition of what form of Lactobacillus you’ll be getting. It could be live bacteria in a probiotic cream, a broken-down bacterial soup called lysate, or some kind of bacterial ferment containing no live bacteria but instead vitamins and beneficial organic acids.

There is also an added complication of keeping the probiotic bacteria alive in the skincare product, which is not as easy as in the closed, dry capsule.

There is no doubt, however, that Lactobacillus bacteria are our friends. Whether they are alive and part of our microflora or whether we just have the antioxidant-rich mixture of their ferment products, they are still a beneficial addition to skincare.