The microbiome can affect skin health from the gut-skin axis, from environmental exposure, and topical treatments. Decreasing biodiversity of skin microbiota has been linked to inflammatory conditions, allergies and skin health.~Therefore, this cross sectional study will be used to survey healthy volunteers and measure the density and diversity of skin flora of varying skin types.~This study will aim to determine if there are associations between the diversity and/or density of normal bacterial flora and (1) the different skin types (i.e. normal, dry, oily, combination, sensitive); (2) the different Fitzpatrick skin types (i.e. ivory; fair or pale; fair to beige with golden undertones; olive or light brown; dark brown; deeply pigmented dark brown to darkest brown): (3) the number of skin products used daily representing time spent on skin health (i.e. low:0-1, mid:2-4, high:5+). Participants will complete a survey in which they will identify their skin conditions and the number and type of skin products they use on their face as a part of their daily routine.~In addition, this study will evaluate the potential of an autofluorescence image-guided device to capture differences in healthy human skin flora through autofluorescence. The MolecuLight i:X™ is used to detect bacteria in chronic wounds. Based on extensive preclinical and clinical studies, the i:X has demonstrated its capability at collecting autofluorescent images of wounds and detecting the presence and relative changes in connective tissue (e.g. collagen) content and bio-distribution involved in wound healing. It can also detect the presence and relative amounts of commensal and pathogenic bacteria within the wound based on autofluorescence alone (these bacteria are invisible to standard visualization with the naked eye using white light), thus providing a measure of infection status.~The imaging device will be used to image skin from the cheek and forehead of healthy volunteers to compare the fluorescent characteristics of normal skin flora. The fluorescent images captured with the i:X™ will be compared against 16S RNA analysis of the skin microbiome and traditional microbiology techniques with selective and differential tests. In addition, non-selective agars will be used to grow bacteria according to the spatial topography of the skin, using a tape stripping method, with lightly adhesive 3M™Tegaderm wound dressings. This will serve as a map for fluorescent images by which to compare fluorescent features to bacterial species.
The microbiome can affect skin health from the gut-skin axis, from environmental exposure, and topical treatments. Decreasing biodiversity of skin microbiota has been linked to inflammatory conditions, allergies, and skin health.~This cross sectional study will be used to survey healthy volunteers and measure the density and diversity of skin flora of varying skin types. The aim of this study is to identify associations between the skin flora and characteristics of healthy skin types.