Can This New Probiotic Skincare Technology Save Your Skin?
Sencyr LiveSkin Probiotics™ Review
Active skincare ingredients like retinol, alpha-hydroxy acids, and niacinamide are proven miracle workers for premature aging and acne-prone skin. But, have you tried live ingredients?
Probiotic skincare is everywhere these days. However, Sencyr is not your average probiotic beauty brand. They have a patented technology to deliver live probiotics to the skin microbiome.
The fact that most probiotic skincare does not contain live microbes, had me really excited to try these products.
In this post I’ll explain the benefits of probiotics skincare and give you my honest thoughts on the Sencyr LiveSkin Probiotics™ Skin Kit.
*Sponsored post but all opinions are my own. Read my full disclaimer here
What Are Probiotics?
Probiotics are live microorganisms (the ‘friendly’ kind) that help to restore and rebalance the good-bad ratio of microbes in the gut microbiome. Studies show that probiotics improve:
Inflammation
Allergies
IBS
Skin conditions - acne, rosacea, eczema, photoaging
Brain health - anxiety, depression, mood swings
Disruption caused by antibiotics
Basically.. everything starts in the gut!
Don’t know about the link between gut and skin health? Check out this book, Younger Skin Starts in the Gut, by Dr. Nigma Talib.
Can Taking Probiotics Improve Your Skin?
Yes! There are decades of data on this topic, including this 12 week controlled clinical trial (2) published in the Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology, that reported a "significant improvement in skin hydration, wrinkles, skin gloss (do they mean glow??) and elasticity."
Do Topical Probiotics Work?
According to this article (3) published in the Dermatological Therapy and Skincare Journal, yes they do. It states that “probiotics can restore skin pH, alleviate oxidative stress, inhibit photoaging (UV damage), improve skin barrier function, and enhance hair quality”
What Is The Skin Microbiome?
Your skin is brimming with trillions of live microbes —including bacteria, that make up the skin microbiome.
Similar to the gut, these invisible microbes are essential in protecting our skin against invading pathogens (germs, infections, diseases).
They are super helpful to your skin goals!
A healthy skin microbiome has the correct balance between 'good' and 'bad' bacteria. It plays a key role in the three main factors that create great skin:
The skin barrier function
The acid mantle
The skin's pH
Use code RichSkin20 for 20% off Sencyr LiveProbiotics Skin Kits
What disrupts the skin microbiome?
Stress, antibiotics, poor nutrition, bad skincare products and chemicals are a few of the culprits that disrupt the bacteria ecosystem of the skin microbiome.
When the microbiome becomes disrupted your skin is left vulnerables to pathogens that cause skin disorders. Your acne breakouts, eczema flare ups, and even signs of premature aging can all be the result of an imbalance in the microbiome.
The Science of Sencyr
Sencyr is the creation of Bernhard Paetzold PhD, one of the co-founders and CSO at S-Biomedic. Paetzold began his career engineering bacteria to cure diseases, before going on to invent and patent Sencyr’s LiveSkin Probiotics™ technology. Which leads me onto the most important part about probiotics and skincare…
The Problem With Most Probiotic Skincare Products...
Is that they don’t actually contain live microorganisms required to boost the population of the beneficial bacteria species on your skin. This is because it’s near impossible to formulate with living probiotics alongside preservatives and heat without killing them.
This is where S-Biomedic have excelled with their innovation and technology. Paetzold cracked the code when he figured out how to preserve living probiotics into a skincare formulation.
The bacteria in Sencyr’s facial serum are alive in the bottle and alive when applied to your skin!
Sencyr LiveSkin Probiotics™ Kit Review
There are two skincare kits available for purchase, the Sencyr RESET kit and Sencyr BALANCE kit. I received a special edition kit to review, a combination of both retail kits, but not available for purchase. It contained:
1 Cleanser
1 Day Serum
3 Face Towels
10 Probiotic Vials (night time)
Test Cards
Brochure + Directions
Use code RichSkin20 for 20% off Sencyr LiveProbiotics Skin Kits
What I liked…
Taking into consideration the sheer amount of the scientific research and innovation that went into the LiveSkin Probiotics™ Facial Serum, it’s no surprise that it's the superstar of the show.
I absolutely loved this product!
The vials contain two parts— the live probiotic powder, which is stored in the cap, and the serum. Before application you break the seal by twisting the cap clockwise releasing the probiotics. Shake for 20 seconds to activate the serum and apply to face, neck and chest.
One bottle is one very generous application. Plenty for face, neck and chest.
My Results
You use this serum at bedtime only, so I let it absorb for a few minutes then applied my night cream.
After day two (there were 10 vials in my kit) I noticed the following improvements in my skin:
Hydration was off the charts
Texture smoother and softer
Visibly plumper and glowy AF
There’s nothing better than waking up with dewy skin that looks like you just did your skincare routine.
I cannot recommend this product enough.
What I didn’t like…
The facial cleanser contains parfum. If you follow my skincare advice you'll know how I feel about fragrance/parfum in skincare. It's a generic term used on ingredient labels that may contain countless chemicals. Over time fragrance, along with other known irritants used in face wash, will cause disruption to the skin's barrier, pH, and microbiome.
Slightly counterproductive for a brand and product intended to balance these things!
I also dislike foaming cleansers a lot.
It's abundantly clear that Sencyr put their time and energy into the science, research and technology of probiotic skincare. But I hope they reformulate their cleanser in the future, so that I can recommend their entire skincare system to you.
What I Recommend: The 30-Day Skin Reset Kit
Sencyr also has a 30-Day Skin Reset Kit. It contains 30 vials of their magical LiveSkin Probiotics™ Facial Serum. I highly recommend this kit if you suffer from acne, eczema, or your skin is dry, damaged and dehydrated.
This kit will save your skin!
Conclusion
The Sencyr skincare kits come with a luxury price tag. But, unlike most luxury skincare products I’ve tried, the LiveSkin Probiotics™ Facial Serum is worth it!
This is because it's not luxury you’re paying for, it's science-backed, advanced skincare. Below are some of the 15 clinical studies S-Biomedics have carried out on LiveSkin™ Probiotics.
Use code RichSkin20 for 20% off Sencyr LiveProbiotics Skin Kits
S-Biomedics published research
References
1. Mary-Margaret Kober, Whitney P. Bowe, The effect of probiotics on immune regulation, acne, and photoaging, International Journal of Women's Dermatology, Volume 1, Issue 2, 2015
2. Lee DE, Huh CS, Ra J, Choi ID, Jeong JW, Kim SH, Ryu JH, Seo YK, Koh JS, Lee JH, Sim JH, Ahn YT. Clinical Evidence of Effects of Lactobacillus plantarum HY7714 on Skin Aging: A Randomized, Double Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study. J Microbiol Biotechnol. 2015 Dec 28;25(12):2160-8. doi: 10.4014/jmb.1509.09021. PMID: 26428734.
3. França K. Topical Probiotics in Dermatological Therapy and Skincare: A Concise Review. Dermatol Ther (Heidelb). 2021 Feb;11(1):71-77. doi: 10.1007/s13555-020-00476-7. Epub 2020 Dec 19. PMID: 33340341; PMCID: PMC7859136.
