Protecting your skin's pH and microbiome - the case for oil cleansing

You’ve likely heard about the gut microbiome, but did you know your skin has its own microbiome that is key to it’s health and vitality? Understanding a little about how your skin functions and why it’s important to protect your skin’s microbiome can help you make the right choices in how you care for your body’s largest organ.

The skin barrier and it’s microbiome

Similar to your gut, the skin’s microbiome is an ecosystem of bacteria on the very outer layer of the skin (the epidermis). It exists to provide protection against pathogens, microbes, allergens from pollution and other environmental stressors that can cause irritation or infection, as well as protect from issues like acne, inflammation and premature ageing. A healthy microbiome is key to maintaining a strong, resilient skin barrier that is ‘gap’ free, able to lock in hydration and keep potential threats out.

A healthy microbiome - why you should cleanse with an oil

The whole purpose of skincare is to nourish and look after the vital, natural functioning of the skin. For a healthy microbiome, a pH of around 5 is preferred (this can be slightly different from person to person). But what we put on our skin as well as what we put in our bodies, can compromise the skin’s pH and as a result cause an unbalanced microbiome - damaging all our good bacteria (microflora) and providing an environment for the bad to go to town. Almost everything can change the skin’s pH - alcohols, fragrances, acids, enzymes, retinol, certain preservatives, creams, even water and water-based products if they aren’t pH balanced for our skin through their formulation. But what doesn’t affect your skin’s natural pH? Oils!

Cleansing can easily be an overlooked area of skincare - particularly considering whatever you use is generally only on the skin for a short period of time and just about anything can ‘clean’ the skin … right? But you could actually be doing more harm than good. When we cleanse our skin, we want to remove make-up, dirt, debris and any build up of dead skin cells. While a lot of cleansers will do this, unfortunately it comes at the expense of our skin barrier and it’s microbiome - the ingredients too aggressive for our skin’s natural pH (soap for example can have a pH of around 10), causing an imbalance, damaging the microbiome, stripping the skin of it’s good, moisturising natural oil (our sebum), and degrading the skin barrier.

So all that work you’re doing to build a resilient barrier that is able to protect as well as hold the hydration in from what you’re applying and from what your skin has built up internally through staying hydrated, is simply being lost. In addition to this, for those with oily/breakout-prone skin, the stripping of your natural oils can actually send your sebaceous glands (what produces your natural oils/sebum) into overdrive … producing an even oilier complexion. This is exactly why an oil cleanser can be one of the key foundations to a pro-skin health routine. But … you do need to make sure you use the right oils to cleanse - although natural, steer clear of oils and products that are highly comedogenic and occlusive like coconut oil.

Anchor

I formulated Anchor, our bioactive body and cleansing oil, to be a treatment for the skin - while it melts away make-up, deep cleanses impurities within the pores and dead skin cells, it also works to nourish and improve the barrier with a range of vitamins, antioxidants, minerals and other phytonutrients, keeping the acid mantle in tact and respecting the pH of the microbiome.

The nutrient-dense botanical oils like baobab, rich in vitamin A (carotenoids), D, E and essential fatty acids; camellia, rich in vitamins A, B and E, antioxidants, disinfectant and germicidal properties; rice bran oil, rich in vitamin B and omega 9; and hazelnut, great for toning and tightening cells, all work to rejuvenate, restore, tone and support collagen and elastin. Both rice bran and camellia also contain squalene, which has a very similar molecular structure to sebum (our natural squalene levels actually decline over time which can contribute to things such as dehydration and loss of elasticity).

As with all our products, we start with the selected whole plant botanicals and herbs, from our gardens as well as those that have been sustainably wildcrafted and harvested, to create the base oil complex. This takes the nutrient concentration to a whole new level, together with he antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, soothing and highly regenerative pure essential oils such as rose, sandalwood, frankincense and cedarwood. The uplifting yet luxurious scent transports you to a moment of peace, the perfect place to start your selfcare routine.

The best way to oil cleanse

The beautiful thing about oil cleansing, if I haven’t mentioned enough yet, is that it can remove all of the day’s grime without the harsh rubbing or tugging of the skin. Following the steps below can turn a cleansing chore into an enjoyable and beneficial face massage.

1. Pour a coin-size amount of Anchor into the palm of your hand, rub between hands and press over a dry face. Don’t add any water just yet, as this dilutes the beautiful ingredients.

2. Massage for at least one minute, the longer the better, to work and saturate the product into your skin and lift the impurities. The massage also increases your lymph flow and circulation in the face.

3. To create a light milky emulsion, now wet your hands and continue to massage, focussing on areas of congestion.

4. When you’re ready, place a damp, warm washcloth on your face and gently press it into your skin, giving you a mini steam facial treatment. Gently wipe away and rinse the excess if you need, revealing a nourished, balanced and petal-soft complexion. Anchor can be used alone as a single cleanser in the morning, or as a double cleanse in the evening if you are removing makeup.

Ready to add oil cleansing to your skincare routine? Have a closer look at Anchor and it’s incredible ingredients here.