Greetings, skin microbiome enthusiasts,
If you have ever looked in the mirror and noticed that your pores seem larger than they used to be, you are not imagining it. And no, it is not just the lighting. There is real biology happening underneath your skin, and once you understand it, the whole picture starts to make a lot more sense.
Let me walk you through it.
Here is a simple way to think about it. Imagine two loofahs. One is brand new, firm, and snaps right back when you squeeze it. The other has been used for months. It stays stretched open, soft, and shapeless. It lost its elasticity.
That is exactly what happens to the skin around your pores as you age.
Pores do not physically enlarge. What changes is the structural support around them. As collagen and elastin break down, the skin loses its ability to hold pores tightly in place, and they sag open. Visibly. Permanently, if we do nothing about it.
There are a few reasons this happens, and they tend to layer on top of each other over time.
Loss of elasticity and collagen. As we age, production of these structural proteins slows down, leading to thinner, sagging skin that allows pores to widen. Collagen loss starts in the mid-20s at roughly 1% per year. By menopause, some women lose up to 30% in just five years.
Sun damage. Long-term UV exposure breaks down collagen and elastin, accelerating the sagging effect and weakening the support structure around each pore. This is not gradual and gentle. UV damage is cumulative and relentless.
Accumulated oil and dead skin cells. As skin ages and cell turnover slows, debris builds up inside pores. Over time, that mechanical stretching makes pores appear even larger.
Reduced skin firmness. Similar to a stretched rubber band that no longer snaps back, skin that has lost its firmness simply cannot keep pores tight. The result is a more open, visible appearance that does not improve without intervention.
This is where I want to be honest with you, because there is a lot of noise in this space.
First, sunscreen. Every single day. I will say this as many times as it takes. UV exposure is the single fastest way to destroy collagen and elastin. It activates the enzymes that degrade your skin’s structural matrix. No serum, no supplement, no probiotic lotion will fully compensate for skipping sun protection. This one is non-negotiable.
Second, vitamin C from your food, not just your serum. New research from the University of Otago found something striking: eating two vitamin C-rich fruits a day, like kiwi, literally thickened the skin by supporting collagen synthesis from the inside. The correlation between plasma vitamin C and skin vitamin C was tighter than in any other organ the researchers studied. Strawberries, bell peppers, citrus, kiwi. These are your collagen cofactors, and they work.
Third, your skin microbiome. This is where things get really interesting to me as a formulation scientist, and where I want to spend a little more time.
I know retinol is everywhere. I know it has clinical backing for collagen remodeling. But I am going to tell you why I personally do not recommend it, especially at higher concentrations, and why I think there is a smarter path.
Retinol works partly by accelerating cell turnover and stimulating fibroblast activity. But at higher concentrations, it disrupts the skin microbiome. It alters the pH environment, compromises barrier function, and can trigger the kind of low-grade chronic inflammation that ironically accelerates the very collagen degradation we are trying to prevent. For a skin organ I think of as a living ecosystem, throwing a strong chemical accelerant at it and calling it anti-aging feels like the wrong philosophy.
So what do I recommend instead?
A well-formulated living probiotic lotion can do something retinol cannot: work with your skin’s biology rather than against it.
Our BloomRadiance Fresh Smoothing Probiotic Lotion was formulated with this in mind. It contains L. plantarum DSM 6595 at 1 billion live cells per gram. Here is what that means in practice.
L. plantarum produces lactic acid as a natural metabolite. Lactic acid is a gentle alpha hydroxy acid that supports cell turnover and keeps pores clear, without stripping the microbiome or overwhelming the barrier. In our Bloom Media, the activation process generates this lactic acid naturally, so it is not something we add artificially. It is produced biologically, at a concentration and pH that is compatible with living skin.
Beyond lactic acid, L. plantarum also produces antimicrobial peptides that keep pathogenic bacteria in check, short-chain fatty acids that support barrier integrity, and compounds that help regulate the inflammatory response. This matters because, as we discussed, it is chronic low-grade inflammation that activates MMPs, the enzymes that degrade collagen and elastin. A balanced microbiome is a quieter, less inflammatory environment. And a quieter environment means slower structural breakdown.
So rather than one ingredient targeting one pathway aggressively, a living probiotic lotion is working across multiple pathways simultaneously: gentle exfoliation, barrier support, inflammation regulation, and microbiome balance. All in one product. All from biology, not chemistry.
You cannot reverse collagen loss completely. Anyone telling you otherwise is selling you something. But you can slow the rate of degradation significantly, and you can support the conditions that allow your skin to function as the living organ it actually is.
Protect it from UV. Feed it vitamin C. And give its microbiome what it needs to do its job.
Your skin has been working hard for you. It deserves the same in return.
Until next blog, cheers.
