Key Takeaways:
Over the past few years, a flurry of independent beauty brands have brought the microbiome to the forefront of formulations, marketing, and packaging claims. French brand Gallinée, UK brands Byoma and Cultured Biomecare, and South African brand Esse Skincare have all built out reputations around the skin microbiome on a global scale, leading with microbiome claims and bacteria messaging.
And while the biggest beauty brands in the world are clearly interested in the microbiome—Shiseido acquired microbiome skincare brand Gallinée in 2022, Procter & Gamble acquired probiotic beauty brand Tula Skincare in 2022, Beiersdorf acquired a majority stake in lifesciences and microbiome firm S-Biomedic, and L'Oréal acquired probiotic and microbiome specialist Lactobio in 2023—very, very few are spotlighting the microbiome on products. Until recently, that is.
Procter & Gamble, one of the largest personal care companies in the world, recently put “microbiome balance” front-of-pack on a range of its shampoo and conditioners, calling out the scalp microbiome science behind these mass-market formulas.
A Mainstream “Inflection Point”
The microbiome—the collection of all microbes naturally living on and inside our bodies—has never been backed by so much science. Decades of research have demonstrated the critical link between gut health and overall health, identifying biochemical signaling taking place throughout the body, between the gastrointestinal tract, brain, and skin, known as the gut-brain-skin axis.
Consumer curiosity and understanding are also more elevated than ever, with global Google searches for “microbiome” doubling in the past five years. According to US trend tracker specialist Spate, average monthly global Google searches for the term microbiome hit 110,000 between August 2024 and July 2025, with “gut bacteria microbiome” and “gut microbiome” seeing 33,100 and 27,100 average monthly searches, respectively.
For beauty, specifically, Spate data shows consumers are increasingly looking to understand more about the skin microbiome, scalp microbiome, and skincare for the microbiome. Global Google searches over the same annual period were up 176.9% on the previous year for “skin + microbiome” searches, with 3,400 average monthly searches; searches for “skincare + microbiome” were up 98.2% at 2,000 average monthly searches; and searches for “scalp + microbiome” were up 120.2%, coming from a relatively lower base of 480 average monthly searches. According to the trend tracking firm, this data suggests microbiome beauty is a medium awareness trend in the US, UK, and globally—unsurprising, given the boom in consumer interest around skin health more broadly.
According to Euromonitor International, beauty and personal care consumers in 2025 are increasingly drawn to brands with clinical positioning and seeking products backed by science and medical endorsements, creating huge interest in dermocosmetics and products linked to skin health.
Mintel research supports this, suggesting beauty consumers are now sharply focused on efficacy and looking for products that help with internal vitality and long-term well-being—far beyond simple aesthetics. According to the market research firm, the future of skincare will adopt a far more health-centric model from 2025 onwards, as the category becomes associated with broader health and wellness outcomes among consumers, opening up key opportunities to develop skin barrier optimization and skin microbiome support products.
So, have beauty brands caught up with the science and consumer interest? And are mass brands working to develop products that manage, maintain, and encourage healthy gut, skin, scalp, and vaginal microbiomes? Is the microbiome truly about to go mainstream?
“I'd say we're at the inflection point—not quite mainstream yet, but close,” said Oliver Worsley, PhD, CEO, and co-founder of skin microbiome testing firm Sequential.
“Awareness around the microbiome has grown significantly in the past few years, but the transition to true mainstream adoption hinges on clarity: clarity in claims, scientific rigor, and consumer understanding. Right now, the science is playing catch-up with consumer marketing. What's missing is scale, reproducibility, and clear mechanisms of action, which I firmly believe are coming soon,” Worsley told BeautyMatter.
Awareness, Relevance, and Investments
Kristin Neumann, PhD, CEO, and co-founder of microbiome testing firm MyMicrobiome, agreed. “The microbiome is undoubtedly a highly relevant topic in the beauty industry, but while awareness is growing, action remains cautious.”
The microbiome, Neumann said, is still perceived as “complex and scientifically intimidating” by many stakeholders, especially mainstream marketing and product development stakeholders. “Bridging the gap between cutting-edge science and consumer-friendly communication remains a major hurdle,” she explained.
“Microbiome beauty is not a trend—it's a paradigm shift,” she said. And there remains a lot of “scientific uncertainty and confusion” around which ingredients are truly microbiome-friendly and a clear “lack of external expertise within big brands—something that can't be solved overnight,” she added. Reformulating also involves significant time, cost, and risk for brands, she said.
Momentum around microbiome beauty is clearly building, though, according to both experts, with large-scale investments and plenty of mergers and acquisitions.
“We're seeing mid- and large-size players acquire microbiome-centric start-ups to access novel platforms, data, and IP,” said Worsley. “It's an efficient way to fast-track innovation without starting from scratch.”
There has also been a surge in investment channeled into microbiome-focused start-ups, he said, along with increased interest from major ingredient suppliers and growing consumer engagement on social media platforms—especially when the narrative connects microbiome health with visible skin outcomes.
Elsa Jungman, PhD, CEO, and founder of microbiome testing platform HelloBiome, agreed. “Strategic investment has outpaced traditional venture capital, likely because the science requires deep expertise and is hard to underwrite. But corporates are stepping in. We are seeing joint ventures, licensing deals, and co-development partnerships, not just with us at HelloBiome but across the entire microbiome start-up ecosystem. These are often early signs of a category about to go mainstream.”
And these types of investments, Jungman said, will help brands overcome key challenges when working in the microbiome space, such as scientific literacy, the cost of validating formulas, and internal expertise, which are all crucial to developing “truly differentiated products.”
The Microbiome Tipping Point?
Neumann said at MyMicrobiome there has been a “clear 'push-pull' dynamic in the industry,” with ingredient suppliers being actively approached by brands seeking microbiome-friendly materials and, at the same time, consumers becoming more educated and demanding. “Social media chatter, increasing scientific publications, targeted acquisitions, and investment activity all suggest we're approaching a tipping point,” she said.
“We're also seeing more clinical validations being prioritized, which is critical for the microbiome movement going big,” Worsley added.
And personal care major Unilever—a company with 100+ patents on the microbiome and one of the largest collections of human skin microbiome data—is proof of this shift.
“The microbiome is one of the most exciting areas of beauty science right now, and it's a space we've been deeply invested in at Unilever for over 20 years,” said Jason Harcup, Chief Research and Development Officer for Beauty and Well-being at Unilever.
“Our approach has always been to understand the human microbiome and what it does and then use that science to develop products that support it,” Harcup said.
And Unilever's research has already translated into “real products focused on rebuilding, maintaining, and supporting the skin microbiome,” he said. Vaseline's Pro Derma body line, for example, centers on Unilever's lipid precursor science, Pro-Ceramide Technology, to stimulate natural ceramide production for a stronger skin barrier and improved hydration. Murad's Biome-Balancing Treatment Serum relies on the company's Biome-Sensing Tech that works with the active ingredient glutamic acid to feed the skin's good bacteria and empower the microbiome to thrive.
A Quiet Uprising of Microbiome Beauty
“In many ways, the microbiome has already gone mainstream—just not by name,” Harcup said. “When consumers talk about wanting clearer skin or less dandruff, they're often experiencing the benefits of microbiome science without realizing it.”
Marie Drago, founder of Gallinée, agreed. “I think the microbiome already is mainstream in beauty, but the consumer doesn't always get to see it.”
More and more formulations are developed in collaboration with microbiologists, not just chemists, Drago said, across a number of beauty brands today, making widespread changes to familiar, traditional formulas. The antibacterial agent triclosan, for example, is no longer marketed as a key active in toothpastes, she said, and products targeting acne-prone skin are now designed to be much gentler on skin bacteria. Prebiotics like inulin and galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) are also being increasingly integrated into formulas, albeit quietly, she added.
“Talking about bacteria still gets brands a bit scared, but the change of formulation is clearly happening.”
Big brands now just need to invest in communicating the concept more clearly to consumers and industry partners by talking more openly about bacteria, Drago said. And the bigger the brand, the bigger the scale and impact, she said.
“Shiseido helped us get a lot better at marketing and scaling the brand; they have true excellence in those fields. Educating consumers and partners about the microbiome has become much easier and better since becoming part of Shiseido.”
So, where exactly are the biggest opportunities for mass beauty brands to catapult the microbiome into mainstream aisles?
Skincare, Suncare, Homecare, and Well-Being
Skincare, definitely, said Worsley. “Skincare is leading the charge. Acne, rosacea, and atopic dermatitis are high-need, high-interest areas where consumers are actively searching for effective, gentle solutions.”
Neumann agreed, adding facial care as a key area brands are also advancing microbiome efforts in, noting the “functional, health-oriented aspect of beauty” is where the microbiome narrative resonates strongest, targeting conditions like eczema, acne, rosacea, and sensitive skin.
“It's incredibly exciting to see the shift from symptom-focused skincare to root-cause, health-centered formulations. Ultimately, it's about empowering consumers with products that respect and support their biology,” she said.
Drago said, “Everywhere in beauty where we see bacteria as a problem should be thought of as an opportunity to see bacteria as the solution.”
And this, of course, stretched beyond products applied to skin, into categories like home care and fabric care, too, she said. But for beauty, specifically, the co-founder said suncare is an especially exciting space.
“We understand the role of the microbiome in UV protection, so it's not a big leap to think about products using the microbiome in this field. Regulations around filters will need to evolve, though.” Makeup is another “obvious” category for microbiome-friendly formulas, she said.
Harcup said recent Unilever research published in the British Journal of Dermatology suggests promise in managing mental wellness via the skin microbiome, with the work identifying a potential link between skin bacteria on various areas of the body and psychological well-being. “The opportunity this could provide across our brand portfolio is huge. It means Unilever may, in the future, be able to bring products to market that claim to enhance well-being, reduce stress, and boost mood.”
And this continued path towards more microbiome-targeted product development, he said, will be propelled forward with the rise of AI and digital technologies, which will be able to reveal undiscovered patterns and connections “much faster and much deeper.”
Tech Advances to Unlock Microbiome Data
“Microbiome research that would once have been intractable is now accessible to researchers in months or even weeks,” Harcup said. Although biology is infinitely complex, he said AI and machine learning enable teams to explore things in a way that was not possible before. “We're able to study not just the trillions of organisms, which live on your skin, in your gut, in your home, but also how they interact with each other, the communities they form, and the benefits they can bring us,” he said.
Understanding these interactions, he said, then helps brands, like Unilever, develop smarter technologies and better products. “It's a major focus for us, and we've made significant investments in digital infrastructure and AI partnerships to support it.”
Neumann agreed on the potential AI technology holds for the formulation side of microbiome beauty. A key innovation at MyMicrobiome, she said, is the company's AI-driven prediction tool MINCI, which enables brands to assess and develop microbiome-friendly formulations early in the R&D process, reducing trial-and-error cycles and supporting “scalable innovation based on biological relevance.”
According to Worsley, digital technology advances will also help aid the future development of more personalized formulations, specific to certain health conditions—an area brimming with promise. “I'm excited about the shift from reactive to preventative skin health,” he said. “The microbiome gives us a window into early changes—so-called sub-clinical—before symptoms appear. With the right tools, we can guide consumers towards products that maintain balance, rather than constantly trying to fix damage. That's a huge mindset shift, and it's where the future of consumer health is going.”
For Worsley, the microbiome is more than just a trend. “It's a fundamental piece of biology that's finally getting the attention it deserves.”
