Pleine Lune: The Cleanser That’s So Good for Your Microbiota

Skin Cleansing: An Essential Step

Healthy skin is, above all, clean skin! Thanks to scientific progress, we now understand the crucial role of the microbiota in achieving healthy skin. Therefore, choosing a cleanser that nurtures this microbiota is a serious matter and requires understanding its function. More than ever, the practice of cleansing your skin morning and night is essential.

This is why it was important for us to formulate, for you, not just a simple cleanser but a cleansing care product. Beyond cleansing, this product must maintain the balance and health of our skin flora. Our team has invested a lot in its creation, and today, we are proud and happy to present it to you. But before we delve into its composition, let’s briefly explain the microbiota.

Skin Cleansing and Microbiota: Two Close Partners

Our skin, a remarkable waterproof and protective coat, would be nothing without the billions of micro-organisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi, mites, and parasites) that inhabit it. Invisible to the naked eye, they play a crucial role in defending against constant external assaults.

The microbiota, also known as skin flora, is unique to each person’s skin. Indeed, more than 1,000 bacterial species – not to mention viruses, yeasts, and mites – have been identified in the human microbiota. The number of micro-organisms increases with age. The bacteria, which make up 90% of the microbiota and include more than 1,000 species, can reach 1,000 billion. The “commensal” good bacteria defend us and coexist permanently with pathogenic bacteria. However, many factors affect the composition of this microbiota and constantly disrupt its balance, allowing pathogenic bacteria to dominate. An increase or decrease in bacterial composition (dysbiosis) leads to skin inflammation, resulting in imperfections and other potential skin diseases.

This microbiota is complex, fragile, and subject to multiple aggressions throughout the day. Protecting and nourishing it as much as possible is the first step towards healthy skin. We have dedicated a complete article to the topic of microbiota, which you can find here to learn more.

Each night and day, cellular waste from dead skin cells – we lose more than a million skin cells per day – excess sebum, pollution, etc., accumulate on the skin’s surface and clog pores. The cleanser’s function is to eliminate all these impurities. Our better understanding of the microbiota leads us today to go beyond the simple function of cleansing: it’s about paying special attention to the quality and composition of the cleansing care.

It’s also important to know that it does not replace a makeup remover. Indeed, only the oily ingredient in a makeup-removing oil can completely dissolve makeup. And only a cleanser can remove traces of a makeup-removing oil and all impurities such as pollution and dead skin from cellular waste. This is the very principle of double cleansing: it ensures makeup removal and a perfect rebalancing cleanse of the skin to guarantee healthy skin, ready to absorb day or night care.

A Moisturizing, Remineralizing, and Rebalancing Cleanser

Now, let’s talk about “Pleine Lune,” our cleansing powder! So why this name? Why a powder? And what are its active ingredients and benefits?

You know us by now, and you understand how efficacy and sensoriality are part of L’ODAÏTÈS’s DNA. We wanted to make this cleansing care, the first step of the beauty ritual, a gentle and delightful introduction, whether for night or day care. We took great pleasure in brainstorming the name as a team. The name “Pleine Lune” gradually imposed itself: what better way to illustrate the softness and purity this care brings than the beautiful image of a full moon?

As for the form, we were keen to opt for a powder to contribute as much as possible to water preservation and to limit the energy expenditure related to its transport. We also wanted to make it a travel-friendly product, easy to carry on your journeys. Indeed, skin cleansing remains an indispensable bi-daily gesture.

Let’s talk about the active ingredients in our cleansing powder “Pleine Lune”. As with all our skincare products, it’s a singular synergy of 3 precious active ingredients for the skin.

A. Scallop Powder, A Remineralizing Active Ingredient

Yes, this is the first time you’ll have scallop shell powder in your hands. It’s even upcycled scallop shell powder from our beautiful Brittany. Indeed, all these shells that become unfit for consumption because they are chipped and broken, are recovered, cleaned, and reduced to powder. The resulting powder is a highly remineralizing active ingredient for the skin with a high content of calcium, magnesium, and trace elements such as copper and zinc, known for their anti-inflammatory properties. It’s a precious ally for the good health of our hydrolipidic film.

B. Chitosan

This is a natural active ingredient derived from the shells of crustaceans (crabs, shrimp, etc.). It has the remarkable ability to maintain hydration by capturing and retaining water in the different layers of your skin. It also has antibacterial and antifungal properties, essential for keeping skin healthy.

C. Pre & Probiotic Complex

A quick reminder of the definitions of prebiotic and probiotic, even though these terms have become common today. A prebiotic is a dietary substance that stimulates the development of good bacteria at the expense of harmful bacteria. A probiotic is a living micro-organism (bacteria or yeast) that acts against harmful microorganisms. Prebiotics and probiotics thus live in symbiosis. The former promote the development of the latter by providing the nutrients necessary for their beneficial action.

It was only natural for us to opt for a symbiotic combination as the active principle of our cleanser, mixing prebiotics from plant substrates, and probiotic bacteria of the Lactobacilli type. Besides its nourishing action, it will reveal the radiance of the complexion by stimulating the skin’s natural defenses.