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Review

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

by
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,† and
Katerina Kotzampassi
1,*,†
1
Hellenic Institute for the Study of Sepsis (HISS), 11528 Athens, Greece
2
Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54636 Thessaloniki, Greece
3
Uni-Pharma S.A., 14564 Athens, Greece
4
Department of Surgery, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54636 Thessaloniki, Greece
5
Department of Surgery, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge CB2 2QQ, UK
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Nutrients 2024, 16(15), 2526; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16152526
Submission received: 25 June 2024 / Revised: 24 July 2024 / Accepted: 30 July 2024 / Published: 2 August 2024
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Probiotics, Prebiotics, and Postbiotics on Human Health)
Versions Notes

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; probiotics; postbiotics; skin health; topical use cosmeceuticals; dermocosmetics; probiotics; postbiotics; skin health; topical use

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MDPI and ACS Style

Theodorou, I.M.; Kapoukranidou, D.; Theodorou, M.; Tsetis, J.K.; Menni, A.E.; Tzikos, G.; Bareka, S.; Shrewsbury, A.; Stavrou, G.; Kotzampassi, K. Cosmeceuticals: A Review of Clinical Studies Claiming to Contain Specific, Well-Characterized Strains of Probiotics or Postbiotics. Nutrients 2024, 16, 2526. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16152526

AMA Style

Theodorou IM, Kapoukranidou D, Theodorou M, Tsetis JK, Menni AE, Tzikos G, Bareka S, Shrewsbury A, Stavrou G, Kotzampassi K. Cosmeceuticals: A Review of Clinical Studies Claiming to Contain Specific, Well-Characterized Strains of Probiotics or Postbiotics. Nutrients. 2024; 16(15):2526. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16152526

Chicago/Turabian Style

Theodorou, Ioannis M., Dorothea Kapoukranidou, Markos Theodorou, Joulia K. Tsetis, Alexandra Eleftheria Menni, Georgios Tzikos, Stella Bareka, Anne Shrewsbury, George Stavrou, and Katerina Kotzampassi. 2024. "Cosmeceuticals: A Review of Clinical Studies Claiming to Contain Specific, Well-Characterized Strains of Probiotics or Postbiotics" Nutrients 16, no. 15: 2526. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16152526

APA Style

Theodorou, I. M., Kapoukranidou, D., Theodorou, M., Tsetis, J. K., Menni, A. E., Tzikos, G., Bareka, S., Shrewsbury, A., Stavrou, G., & Kotzampassi, K. (2024). Cosmeceuticals: A Review of Clinical Studies Claiming to Contain Specific, Well-Characterized Strains of Probiotics or Postbiotics. Nutrients, 16(15), 2526. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16152526

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