Summer is officially here, and our masks are (finally) coming off...at least in most places. I, for one, will be wearing mine on planes and in crowded places for the foreseeable future! But even for the cautious, rising vaccination rates and warm weather are inspiring many of us to get out of our homes, reconnect with friends, and rejoin the world.
While this is sure to be a welcome change for many, others may be feeling some anxiety about reacclimating to a face-to-face world. Particularly for those who suffer from skin issues, like breakouts and hormonal acne, or even just dull, irritated skin, excitement over ditching our quarantine bubbles and socializing in-person again may be marred by concerns about our appearance. Especially during the hot and humid summer months, when less is definitely more when it comes to makeup, it can be frustrating and demoralizing to deal with breakouts, when all you want is clear, healthy, fuss-free skin.
If this sounds familiar, and you find yourself actually missing the mask due to blemishes, breakouts, and skin inflammation, you might be tempted to invest in complicated 3-step (or more!) skincare systems that claim to have the solution or to be “personalized” to your skincare needs. However, once you start reading the labels for these products, you’ll see that they all contain the exact same active ingredients: benzoyl peroxide, sulfur, and salicylic acid….not very personalized.
And while some of these ingredients aren’t terrible—salicylic acid is a great exfoliator if used in moderation—they are not necessarily what you want to reach for to directly deal with everyday breakouts. This is because they don’t actually target the root cause of the problem: certain types of bacteria on skin known as Cutibacterium acnes (C. acnes for short).
Salicylic acid can help keep your pores clear, but it won’t eliminate these problem bacteria. In contrast, benzoyl peroxide and sulfur DO kill bacteria, but they are not targeted or specific. This means that, much like a grenade, they kill indiscriminately, and so they also wipe out all of the good bacteria on our skin (known as the skin microbiome). These good bacteria are incredibly important, as they help keep our skin healthy and protect from pathogens. This is why if you used these ingredients in the past, they may have helped at first, but ultimately left your skin worse off than when you started.
This is why at Ellis Day, we formulate our smart serums to contain a groundbreaking ingredient known as bacteriophages (aka phages). These are tiny microbes that naturally target and kill bacteria. The phages we use ONLY kill the C. acnes bacteria that cause blemishes and inflammation, so they leave the other members of your microbiome completely unharmed and happy. In addition, they are skin-native, which means these types of phages are naturally found on healthy skin, where they function as part of our skin’s natural ecosystem to keep problem bacteria in check.
Studies have shown we all should have C. acnes phages on our skin, but unfortunately, many features of modern life (pollution, harsh preservatives in skincare, UV, stress, and our diets) can mess with these phages and create an imbalance in our skin microbiome. You might find that especially during the summer, when you are out in the sun (with plenty of sunscreen, hopefully!) and sweating more, your skin becomes oilier, breakout-prone, and generally more irritated. One reason for this may be that your skin microbiome is disrupted.
This is why adding a single-step, all-over, phage-based product to your skincare routine is so important. Ellis Day Skin Science’s original Balancing Phage Serum contains a custom blend of C. acnes phages that target and kill breakout-causing bacteria and help to restore balance to your skin microbiome, so it’s all you need to keep your skin clear, healthy, and happy. However, if you also suffer from dull, dry skin, reach for our new Hydrating Phage Serum, which contains the same blend of active phages as our original serum, plus two forms of hyaluronic acid to plump and hydrate your skin.
The US is reopening and Summer 2021 promises to be pretty amazing….make it a ‘hot phage summer’ by reaching for one of our one-step phage-based products, and don’t let worries about your skin hold you back from experiencing it to the fullest 🌞
If you have any questions about Ellis Day or how our phage-based, skin-native products can help to promote skin health, please email us at hello@ellisdayskinscience.com. We’re happy to help!
About Ellis Day Skin Science
We believe that modern skincare must be grounded in true microbiome science. We believe the answers are in the wild, natural world, which includes the surface of your skin.
At Ellis Day Skin Science, we pioneer natural phage-based products that target and kill bad bacteria associated with inflammation, damage, and aging, and enable good bacteria to flourish. By doing so, we aim to reset your microbiome for optimal skin health.
We use cutting-edge science to leverage nature, creating products that are just as kind and conscientious as they are effective, so that all can feel empowered with balanced, clear, radiant, and resilient skin.