Nature Outline 

Skin microbiome

Thousands of species of bacteria, fungi, viruses and archaea live on human skin. They communicate with each other and with immune cells to keep the skin healthy, but sometimes this conversation falters.

This Nature Outline is editorially independent, produced with financial support from a third party. About this content.

Nature is pleased to acknowledge the financial support of Unilever in producing this Outline. The sponsors retain sole responsibility for the following messages.

The Skin Microbiome – An Emerging Enabler for Hygiene, Health & Beauty in Unilever

The human body and its associated microorganisms are increasingly recognized as a joint ecosystem. On the skin, the activity of microbes is thought to intimately influence various aspects of skin physiology and health wherein the commensal microbiome plays a role contributing to skin health and an imbalance in the microbial community or transient colonization of the skin by pathogenic microbes could is associated with dysbiotic or diseased conditions. While traditional antimicrobial approaches could help resolve these conditions, there is an increasing recognition of the benefits afforded by the ‘good’ microbes and a healthy microbial diversity. Unilever’s ambition has been to build and translate the emerging understanding of a balanced and diverse microbiome into new innovations which respect the holistic host-microbe ecosystem in a sustainable and care-orientated manner. Over the past 20 years, Unilever has invested in fundamental and translational research to advance new microbiome technologies, specifically through leveraging the activities of beneficial skin microbes and the strength of skin’s innate immunity, towards various consumer health and hygiene end points. Unilever has built an industry leading position in microbiome research and capability through strategic partnerships with top universities around the globe. This has directly led to over 25 microbiome related product launches in major brands such as Dove, Baby Dove, Vaseline, Lifebuoy and Ponds.

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