Dr Nadia Abuhussein NASkin

Banana peel for wrinkles? There’s a reason it might make the skin temporarily look and feel softer, but rubbing banana peel on your face isn’t going to stimulate enough collagen to meaningfully treat established wrinkles.

When we’re talking about deeper wrinkles and skin ageing, we need to think beyond what sits on the surface of the skin. Collagen remodelling happens within the dermis, so treatments need to create an appropriate biological stimulus at that level.

Things with better evidence for collagen support include:

• Retinoids, which stimulate collagen production over time
• Microneedling, which triggers a controlled wound healing and remodelling response
• Fractional laser and selected energy based treatments
• Certain regenerative injectable treatments, depending on indication
• Adequate protein, vitamin C and micronutrient status to provide the building blocks for collagen synthesis
• Daily SPF to reduce ongoing UV driven collagen breakdown

So banana peel might be a harmless skincare experiment for some people, but for true collagen remodelling, we need to work much deeper.

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What if your serum could support the living ecosystem of your skin?

Esse Probiotic Serum takes a very different approach to conventional skincare. Instead of focusing only on adding more active ingredients, it works with the skin microbiome and barrier.

It contains live probiotic microbes that are activated when the serum comes into contact with moisture on the skin. The aim is to help support microbial balance, strengthen barrier function and create an environment where healthier skin can thrive.

Why does this matter?

When the skin microbiome becomes disrupted, it can contribute to increased sensitivity, inflammation, dryness and impaired barrier function.

Rather than constantly stripping, exfoliating or trying to “correct” the skin, microbiome focused skincare supports the skin’s own ecosystem.

Healthy skin isn’t sterile. It’s alive.

Esse Skincare UK

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Not all skincare approaches the skin in the same way.

Conventional skincare often focuses on correcting a specific concern using active ingredients, whether that’s reducing acne, controlling oil, targeting pigmentation or increasing cell turnover.

Probiotic skincare takes a different approach.

ESSE focuses heavily on the skin microbiome, the community of microorganisms living on the surface of our skin. Instead of simply targeting the visible problem, the aim is to create an environment that supports microbial diversity, skin barrier function and resilience.

This is particularly interesting when we think about acne, sensitivity and inflammatory skin conditions, where changes in the skin barrier and microbiome may play a role.

The goal isn’t to eliminate bacteria. Your skin needs microbes.

It’s about supporting a healthier skin ecosystem so that the skin can function more effectively on its own.

That’s one of the reasons I incorporate microbiome focused skincare into my functional skin health approach.