Dear readers,
We would like to thank you for your loyalty to the Secret Life of Skin project, housed across both our blog and Instagram channel.
When we started our activities in the field of skin microbiome, we quickly realized that a lot of energy was being invested in this new technology in the field of personal care and that there was real, positive momentum. At the same time, existing knowledge on the subject was very patchy and was not very readily available or accessible online. This was the motivation for us to start the Secret Life of Skin project.
We created a thought-leadership platform, to generate innovative ideas, to translate insights for more readers, and to share knowledge and opinions with others to influence, inspire, and lead the industry and build an active community around skin microbiome research. A good 5 years later, we can proudly say that we have achieved this goal. Thanks to the support of more than 40 authors from research and business, we were able to publish more than 190 articles. Thanks to the outstanding expertise of our authors in their respective fields, the Secret Life of Skin platform is a unique source of information on the microbiome/microbiota.
Initially, the focus in the industry was on establishing suitable sampling and measurement methods and gaining experience in conducting clinical studies on the microbiome, but the focus has now changed and will continue to do so in the future. Whereas in the past it was a question of first determining which bacteria and fungi were present on the skin, today it is more a question of taking a holistic view:
- What is the function of specific germs and what results from their interaction?
- What are the functional benefits of the microbiome in the skin – either directly or via specific metabolites?
What has remained the same is the enthusiasm and certainty among researchers that the microbiome will continue to be an integral part of skin care research in the future. Many thanks to the Instinctif team who have accompanied us over the 5 years of Secret Life of Skin, who have helped us produce such valuable content, adding creative flare and helping translate our insights for wider audiences.
As we say goodbye we want to express our heartfelt gratitude for your engagement over the 5 years. Please visit us on our Personal Care website as we will continue to inform and inspire with microbiome solutions for Beauty and Hygiene.
From the editorial team at dsm- firmenich:
Mathias Gempeler
Martin Pagac
Aline Hueber
