Not Coming Clean

Any sort of bacteria is a dead no for our beauty editor (and resident germophobe) Moh Shuying, but a trip to Seoul to discover a skincare line that works on the microorganisms on our faces is making her rethink her biggest phobia.

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Increasingly in recent years, both scientific and beauty research have been pushing the case for bacteria. Skin flora, as it’s known, and which refers to the microorganisms that reside on skin, could in fact help in the pursuit of the perfect complexion, it seems. It’s a thought bound to give germophobes goosebumps (or worse, a rash). I, for one, have largely been sceptical.

Anyone who knows me knows that cleanliness rules my life. I change my pillowcase every three days, clean my mobile phone with antibacterial wipes every night, and never touch my face without washing my hands with soap. Still, I told myself that there has to be something to all the research surrounding the benefits of skin flora.

According to Dr Georgia Lee, a GP with a special interest in aesthetics, there are three types: one derives benefits from – but isn’t harmful to – the host (aka us), the second can cause diseases, and the third kind has a mutually beneficial relationship with the host. Over at IDS clinic, Dr Ian Tan points out that we shouldn’t try to get rid of the bacteria and microorganisms living on our faces. “There is strong evidence to show that skin flora helps to control the organisms that can cause diseases to humans, modulates our immune response and skin barrier function, and is integral to skin health,” he tells me.