Skin microbiome balance

Skin microbiome balance refers to the state in which the diverse community of microorganisms—including bacteria, fungi, viruses, and mites—living on human skin exist in harmony. This balanced ecosystem is essential for maintaining healthy barrier function; it helps protect against pathogenic invasion by outcompeting harmful microbes and modulating immune responses. Disruption in this equilibrium (dysbiosis) can lead to increased susceptibility to infections and inflammatory conditions such as eczema, acne, psoriasis, and impaired wound healing. The composition and stability of an individual's skin microbiota are influenced by intrinsic factors like age, genetics, body site location on the skin surface; extrinsic factors such as hygiene practices; use of antibiotics; climate; diet; and exposure to environmental pollutants. While therapeutic strategies—including topical probiotics—aim at restoring or supporting this microbial homeostasis for disease prevention or treatment purposes, "skin microbiome balance" itself is not a single molecule or receptor but rather an emergent property arising from complex interactions among many organisms. Skin microbiome balance is not a canonical molecular target such as a receptor or enzyme. It describes an ecological state rather than a discrete druggable entity. Therefore, it is not considered a traditional therapeutic target and does not refer to any specific molecule/receptor/enzyme/protein suitable for structured drug-target information extraction. If information about specific molecules within the skin microbiota that could be targeted therapeutically (such as Staphylococcus aureus, Cutibacterium acnes, etc.) is required, those targets should be specified individually.

Other names

Skin flora balanceMicrobial homeostasis of the skinCutaneous microbiome equilibrium