What Is Galactomyces and What Does It Do to Your Skin?

Since its discovery, there have been numerous studies about galactomyces, most of which primarily to figure out the mechanism behind its effects. Unfortunately, they didn’t find much regarding the way galactomyces work. What they did find out is that it’s indeed beneficial to the skin.

What Does Galactomyces Do for the Skin?

Though there were numerous studies, there are two that really stood out.

The first is an AJBC study that compared two groups, one consisting of individuals who applied essences containing GFF to their faces and the other consisting of people who didn’t use any products.

We’ll discuss the findings later, but the conclusion was that the essence positively affects the skin. The second is a JAAD study, and the results were also positive, but the findings are slightly different.

Nevertheless, from the studies, we can conclude that GFF positively affects the skin in at least five ways.

1. Galactomyces Minimizes the Number of Unwanted Pores

One of the findings in the AJBC study is that the faces of participants treated with ingredients containing galactomyces had 15.66% fewer large opened pores compared to the faces of untreated patients.

Similarly, the treated group’s faces had 21.84% fewer blackheads than the untreated group’s.

This effect, and perhaps the other positive effects of galactomyces, has to do with the fact that in the same study, they found that GFF reduces sebum production by 64.17%. If you didn’t know, this is a good thing since unwanted pores like large pores and blackheads appear because of excess sebum.

In fact, too much sebum is the reason behind many other skin problems, like acne, for example.

2. Galactomyces Reduces the Appearance of Acne

Unsurprisingly, the AJBC study also found that the faces of the treated group had 9.59% fewer acne instances than the untreated group. Again, this effect is due to reduced sebum production.

3. Galactomyces Brightens the Skin

Another finding from the AJBC study is that the treated group saw a 2.49% increase in the brightness of their skin. And as you might expect, the reduced sebum production played a part in this since the skin is known to get dull (the opposite of bright skin) due to too much oil.

4. Galactomyces Prevents Hyperpigmentation

The JAAD study had two main findings.

One is that galactomyces can reduce melanin production to a certain extent. This effect can potentially be a benefit since producing too much melanin can create patches of darker skin around your body.

In other words, galactomyces can prevent hyperpigmentation.

5. Galactomyces Slows Down Aging

The other finding from the JAAD study is that it minimizes the effect of oxidative stress.

For your reference, oxidative stress is a phenomenon that occurs when UV rays hit your skin, which, as you may know, is unavoidable. Oxidative stress is one of the main reasons why skin ages.

Since galactomyces inhibit oxidative stress, in a way, they can slow down aging.

There are many other benefits of galactomyces, but unlike these three, those benefits are mostly speculative. In other words, there has yet to be conclusive evidence proving those supposed benefits.

Is Galactomyces Safe?

While galactomyces have numerous benefits, we’ve only looked at the findings of the two studies while assuming that the person taking the product produces a decent amount of sebum and melanin.

But what if the participant is someone who already lacks melanin and sebum?

If that’s the case, chances are the galactomyces would harm them instead. That’s because even though sebum and melanin can be cosmetically damaging when in excess, their lack can lead to health issues.

For instance, if you don’t produce enough sebum, your skin will get flaky, itchy, or dry. In the same way, if you don’t make enough melanin, you will have less protection against the sun.

In short, while products containing galactomyces can be beneficial, they can also be harmful. It ultimately depends on the person’s physiology, which is why if you want to use cosmetic products, make sure you know your body well. It also goes to show that you mustn’t follow trends without doing your own research.