Cosmetics giants like L’Oreal have already started to favour human microbiomes, a collection of microbes inhabiting a person’s body which controls and regulates health for their skin care applications.
The global cosmetics maker revealed they had been working with the Paris based Institute Pasteur and New York University on microbiomes of the skin, looking at, for example, the microflora of healthy and greasy skin back in Novemeber.
Previous research on a wider scale has found that the skin’s microflora can fight bacteria and infection, and that it might be possible to not only destroy bad bacteria but actively add ‘good’ bacteria to skin creams in order to fight skin conditions such as acne.
New forum, new focus
According to organisers 'Global Engage', this UK based forum to be held in April will build on the success of the American version last year and will explore the interface between evolving cultures, technologies and microbiome research through a series of interactive presentations with leading academics, panel discussions and an exhibition area.
Although the show's target audience has primarily been the likes of the pharma industry, organisers say the European version will have more of a cosmetic leaning as they had noticed that this was an area being increasingly investigated by the industry.
"I think cosmetic professionals would be interested to hear about the latest research across a range of disciplines which would provide them with insights about the research and how ideas could be applied in their particular area of interest," Nick Noakes tells Cosmetics Design-Europe.com.
The conference programme is set to include topics such as; 'The Microbiome Community, Sequencing and Bioinformatics of the Human Microbiome', and 'New Research in Microbiology Sites' and will feature presentations from industry professionals like Jeanne Bolger, Vice President of Venture Investing at Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation, UK.
"It will address issues concerning the storage, usage and analysis of the massive amounts of data collected; ethical and regulatory challenges of commercialising research; and the latest scientific research into microbial communities," Noakes concludes.