Science + Research

At Marie Veronique, we focus on learning everything we can about the roles the various microbiomes in our body play in keeping us, and in particular our skin, healthy. We’ve become so familiar with microbes like Propionibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus epidermidis that they practically feel like our next door neighbors.

In actuality, these bacteria and millions of others like them are even closer to us than our real next door neighbors because they live in and on us—in our gut, our pores, our eyelashes, you name it. There isn’t a crevice, cranny, or fold on the inside or outside of our body that isn’t inhabited by tiny microorganisms ranging from fairly large mites to microscopic microbes.

We are increasingly aware of the link between health and beauty, and in no place is it more apparent than in the skin: When your skin glows with health it, and you, are automatically beautiful. This intuitive reaction to a lovely complexion is biologically hardwired; healthy skin is a profound attractant, one that we are instinctively drawn to. It’s no wonder then that we spend so much money and time on gadgets, gimmicks and expensive spa outings that promise to return our skin to a Shangri-la state of skin glow. However, these quick fixes quickly fade, and you’re back to where you started. Why? Because skin beauty—that glow I was talking about—is predicated on skin health, which is itself a product of overall health. If we are healthy our skin will show it, whereas if we are struggling with health problems our skin will show that. In fact, our skin can be an excellent barometer of our health in general. Happily, as we learn more about the connection between health and beauty, not only are our notions of beauty evolving, so is our ability to support and sustain it.

The second annual microbiome conference was held in San Francisco recently.  The talks ranged from scientists investigating individual microbial species that call the skin microbiome their home, such as Staphylococcus aureus and Proprionibacterium acnes, to entrepreneurs with biome-based products designed to improve skin health. 

We’re all familiar with hyped skin care ingredients that promise the moon—or at least subliminally suggest that we’ll look as if constantly bathed in moonlight with regular usage. Of course, some superhero ingredients, like retinol, stand the test of time. Others, like vitamin C derivatives SAP and MAP, have improved tremendously over their earlier versions thanks to excellent research and development. And others, like peptides, excited formulators at first, then disappointed once it became obvious that they weren’t living up to their original promise. Still others, like plant stem cells, were silly from the get-go—we are not plants, so it’s unclear how plant stem cells (undifferentiated cells that foster new cell growth) are supposed to improve mammalian skin. Plants and animals don’t even belong to the same Kingdom, so it’s a stretch.

The role of collagen and its importance in maintaining beautiful skin is a topic that’s been dominating beauty news recently, no doubt because of the zillions of new treatments purporting to enhance collagen production and give your skin a smooth, youthful glow. Here, we examine the trendiest: collagen peptides applied topically, collagen peptides ingested and “collagen-induction” via microneedling. 

Over the years we’ve had countless women shopping for the men in their lives (and even the occasional man) inquire about which of our regimens are best suited to male skin. It seems that men’s skin care options remain limited to chemical-laden products and higher-end products with questionable efficaciousness. Somewhere between a lack of products designed to fit into a man’s lifestyle and an absence of education around men’s skin health, most men either don’t know—or think they’re not supposed to care—about their skin.

Between Kristina Holey’s practice and my experience with customers, we’ve seen a major surge of inflammatory conditions like acne, rosacea and dermatitis over the last few years. In fact, it’s reached epidemic proportions in Kristina’s female clients in their 30s and 40s.