Learning About the Microbiome

As we move Illumai from a luxury-fasion brand to a brand presenting consumers with a radically new cleansing technology and model, I’m learning more and more about the human microbiome.

Our founder, Michael Zasloff, MD, PhD, has been studying the self-healing properties of skin for over 20 years, and a key element of Illumai’s benefit to users is the fact that it doesn’t degrade the microbiome — the micro-organisms that live on and your skin, scalp and hair.  Most of the attention about the microbiome deals with the gut — the commensal organisms that live in your gut and intestines.  As you’ll see in this wonderful lecture by a gastroenterologist, “you are what you eat” in many, many ways … and your overall health is heavily dependent on the health of your microbiome.

The other thing you’ll notice is how advanced, primarily Western countries are overly committed to “clean” — and the damage done by aggressive detergents in conventional soaps, shampoos and body washes has lead to declining health.   Crohn’s Disease, asthema, lupus, MS and other autoimmune diseases are virtually unknown in sub-Saharan Africa, where kids play in the dirt and the obsession with over-washing hasn’t taken root.

I’m happy to be associated with a product — and a movement — where you can have the best of both worlds: clean, healthy hair, and a healthy, strong microbiome on the hair and scalp.