Nothing is alive in your moisturiser.

"Probiotic" has become one of skincare's favourite words. It sits on labels next to "microbiome-friendly" and "skin-balancing", and it sounds reassuringly natural.

So what does it mean when a cream says it's probiotic? Is something alive in the jar? And does any of it do anything?

Short answers: almost never, and sometimes, depending on the strain. The longer answers start with your skin.

 

Your skin already runs an ecosystem

Skin is home to a huge community of bacteria, fungi and other microorganisms, known as the skin microbiome.

It's a tough place to live. Skin is dry, acidic and low in nutrients, which makes life hard for harmful microbes trying to settle there. A diverse community of helpful microbes lives there anyway, and in a healthy adult it stays fairly stable over time, even as the environment around it changes.

These microbes aren't passengers. Research shows they help train the skin's immune system, and certain skin conditions are linked to a microbiome that has fallen out of balance. Specific helpful strains can help keep unwanted microbes in check and help keep the barrier strong.

So when people talk about a "balanced" microbiome, this is what they mean: a skin environment where the good microbes thrive and the barrier stays healthy.

One word, three meanings

Scientifically, probiotics are live microorganisms that, given in the right amounts, provide a health benefit. The key word is live. Think yoghurt, or a supplement.

In skincare, the word stretches to cover three different things:

All postbiotics are probiotic-derived. Not every probiotic-derived ingredient earns the postbiotic label.

 

A probiotic works because it's alive. A postbiotic works even though it isn't.

In 2021, an international panel of scientists defined a postbiotic as a non-living preparation of microbes or their parts that still benefits the body. The microbes are deliberately inactivated, but their cell walls, proteins, enzymes and other components can still have a useful effect on skin.

That's why postbiotics suit skincare far better than live cultures. Live bacteria are difficult to keep alive in a cream. Postbiotics stay stable in a formula and don't depend on surviving the shelf, or your skin.

So what's a ferment lysate?

One common probiotic-derived ingredient is a lysate. It's made in three moves:

1. Ferment: Beneficial bacteria are grown through fermentation.
2. Break open: The cells are broken apart, so they can no longer live or grow.
3. Keep the contents: What's left behind is the ingredient. No whole microbe makes it in.

So when you see "ferment lysate" on a label, nothing living goes on your skin. You're getting the useful parts of the microbe, not the microbe itself.

What can they do for skin?

Research suggests probiotic-derived ingredients may help support the skin barrier, keep the skin's microbiome balanced and calm irritation, with possible benefits for hydration and the visible signs of ageing.

Some small studies are encouraging. One found a cream with a bacterial lysate improved hydration and boosted the skin's natural ceramides in 2 weeks. Another found a lysate cream improved sensitive skin over 2 months.

"Probiotic" on a label doesn't promise the same benefits. The strain and the way it's prepared do the work.

That's the catch. Results depend on the specific strain and how it's prepared, and the studies so far are small. Treat the category as promising, not proven, for every product that borrows the word.

Why we chose Pro Renew Complex for Bear Hug

Bear Hug uses 0.2% Pro Renew Complex, a Lactococcus ferment lysate and our probiotic-derived well-ageing active.

In plain terms, it's made by fermenting beneficial Lactococcus bacteria and then breaking them open, so it sits in the non-living, probiotic-derived category. In Bear Hug, its role is to support skin renewal and well-ageing, and to help protect against city pollution.

We chose it because a barrier moisturiser people use morning and night should also support the skin's longer-term renewal, not just its comfort today. A small, well-chosen percentage is enough for that job.

How it works with the rest of Bear Hug

A probiotic-derived ingredient works best as part of a well-built formula. In Bear Hug, Pro Renew Complex sits alongside four other key actives, each with its own job: