Biomimetic actives: what if your skin already knew the best routine?

For a long time, cosmetics focused on the visible correction of skin signs: exfoliating more, speeding up cell renewal, intensely stimulating certain biological mechanisms. While these approaches delivered fast results, they also revealed their limits: alteration of the skin barrier, discomfort, sensitization or imbalances of the microbiome in some skin types.

Today, advances in skin biology invite us to look at things differently. What if the most effective skincare was not the kind that pushes the skin to react more, but the kind that helps it work according to its own natural mechanisms? Cosmetic biomimicry, from the Greek bios (life) and mimesis (to imitate), does not seek to force the skin. It seeks to speak to it in its own language: to provide what it recognizes, what it naturally produces, what it needs to function at its best.

This approach is particularly relevant when it comes to preserving the skin barrier. Often relegated behind concerns about radiance, firmness or wrinkles, it is nevertheless one of the pillars of skin health. A weakened barrier encourages dehydration, sensitivities and microbiome imbalances. Among the most interesting biomimetic active ingredients to support it, postbiotics now hold a central place. You can find them in our natural and organic face care.

To understand the value of biomimetic active ingredients, we first need to recall how the skin is organized.

The epidermis is the most superficial layer. A true protective barrier, it limits water loss, protects against external aggressions and hosts the skin microbiome.

Beneath the epidermis lies the dermis, where fibroblasts produce collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid, three elements essential to the skin's firmness, suppleness and volume.

Finally, the hypodermis forms the deep support of the skin. Rich in fat cells, it contributes to insulation, protection and the maintenance of volumes.

Biomimetic active ingredients act at different levels of this complex architecture: some support the barrier function of the epidermis, while others accompany the support and renewal mechanisms present in the dermis.

A biomimetic active ingredient is a molecule designed to imitate or reproduce what the skin naturally produces or recognizes. Its mode of action is not to impose a biological reaction, but to support a mechanism that already exists or to restart a mechanism that has slowed down with age, stress, or hormonal fluctuations.

This rests on three fundamental principles:

• The skin recognizes these molecules. It does not identify them as foreign bodies. Its cell receptors read them and integrate them into their normal processes, which considerably reduces the risk of irritation or immune reaction, unlike an exogenous active ingredient that forces the skin to react.
• The effects are lasting. By supporting the skin's fundamental biological mechanisms (collagen production, cohesion of the skin barrier or balance of the microbiome), the goal is to obtain gradual and lasting results rather than immediate but temporary effects. We support biological functions that the skin naturally mobilizes throughout life, but which can slow down with age, stress or hormonal fluctuations.
• We respect the complexity of the system. Barrier, firmness, radiance and microbiome are not separate problems: they work as a system. Biomimetic active ingredients follow this logic of coherence rather than introducing an isolated disruption.

The skin microbiome, this set of bacteria, yeasts and fungi that colonize the surface of the skin, is now recognized as a central player in skin health. It regulates pH, produces antimicrobial peptides, modulates the local inflammatory response and constantly communicates with the immune system. Postbiotics are the metabolites produced by beneficial bacteria during fermentation. Unlike live probiotics, which are difficult to stabilize in a cosmetic formula, postbiotics are stable active fragments, whose biological signals the skin directly recognizes and integrates.

Their main value lies in their ability to support the skin barrier, often the great forgotten part of the skin. Yet it is the barrier that provides protection against external aggressions, limits water loss and helps maintain a balanced microbiome. When it is weakened, the skin becomes more sensitive, more reactive and more vulnerable to imbalances.

Their action is threefold: they reinforce the tight junctions between keratinocytes, they modulate surface inflammation without suppressing it, and they promote an environment favorable to beneficial commensal bacteria (Belkaid & Tamoutounour, 2016).

By supporting both the microbiome and the barrier function, postbiotics help create the conditions for skin that is more resilient, more comfortable and durably balanced.

Squalene is naturally synthesized by human sebaceous glands. It makes up about 10 to 15% of natural human sebum and plays a central role in the suppleness of the skin barrier, surface antioxidant protection and the regulation of epidermal impermeability. For millennia, the skin functioned autonomously thanks to it and to the lipids it produced itself. From the age of 25-30, its production decreases significantly. Without enough squalene, the skin barrier loses flexibility, the skin dehydrates more easily and becomes more vulnerable to oxidative stress. The topical supply of plant-based squalene (from olive oil or amaranth) is one of the most direct demonstrations of biomimicry: we reintroduce a molecule that the skin knows perfectly, that it can use immediately, without any adaptation mechanism. (Kohno et al., 1995).

Among plant oils, jojoba oil holds a place of its own. It is in fact not an oil in the strict sense, but a liquid wax whose composition is exceptionally close to that of human sebum. This affinity makes it one of the most biomimetic plant oils: the skin easily recognizes it, naturally integrates it into its hydrolipidic film and tolerates it particularly well, even when sensitive or weakened. By helping to reinforce the skin barrier and limit water loss, it supports the skin's natural protection mechanisms without disrupting them. This is why we included it in our regenerating oil: it fits fully into our biomimetic approach by giving the skin a lipid it already recognizes.

Oat (Avena sativa) has been used in dermatology for centuries. But oat that is standardized and concentrated in its active fractions goes far beyond a simple softener. Its lipids are close in composition to the ceramides and fatty acids naturally present in the stratum corneum. They integrate into the intercellular cement as if they were already part of it. Its beta-glucans interact with surface immune receptors to modulate the inflammatory response in a fine way without suppressing it.

Several studies published in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology (Fowler, 2012) showed that colloidal oatmeal helped improve barrier function, reduce transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and soothe signs of discomfort in sensitive skin. Its action is structural: it actively participates in rebuilding the spaces between keratinocytes alongside ceramides.

Ceramides represent about 50% of the lipids of the stratum corneum. Together with cholesterol and free fatty acids, they form the lamellar structure that makes the epidermis impermeable to water loss and resistant to external aggressions.

Their decline with age, accentuated by the drop in estrogens in perimenopause and menopause, is one of the major causes of chronic skin dehydration, tightness and increased reactivity. This is why women often notice "transformed" skin during these hormonal transitions: the barrier is no longer watertight in the same way.

A study in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (Chamlin et al., 2002) showed that formulas enriched with biomimetic ceramides helped effectively restore barrier function and improve skin comfort. Their action in synergy with proven oat, two active ingredients that speak the same language as the stratum corneum, multiplies its effectiveness.

Collagen represents nearly 80% of dermal proteins. It gives the skin its resistance, bounce and density. Its production starts to decline from age 25, by about 1% per year, and can drop by a further 30% in the five years after menopause, under the effect of hormonal variations. The biomimetic approach does not consist of applying collagen to the skin, whose molecules are too large to penetrate the epidermis effectively, but of supporting the mechanisms involved in its natural synthesis. This is the whole value of biomimetic pro-collagen active ingredients: they act as biological signals designed to support the activity of fibroblasts, the cells responsible for producing the skin's supporting fibers. This is the logic we chose for our pro-collagen balm, to be discovered at the end of this article.

Retinol is the most documented anti-aging active ingredient in cosmetology. But in its high-dose synthetic version, it has a real biological cost: irritation, photosensitization, progressive weakening of the epidermis, exactly the type of damage that biomimetic cosmetics seek to avoid.

Plant-based pro-retinol takes a different approach. It provides the skin with natural precursors that it converts itself into active retinoids, at its own pace and in the quantities it needs. The result: a similar action on cell renewal and the softening of fine lines, without the irritating side effects of synthetic retinoids. Work published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology confirmed the value of plant-based retinol precursors as a gentle alternative to classic retinoids for sensitive skin, with significantly better skin tolerance for comparable efficacy on epidermal renewal (Zasada & Budzisz, 2019).

Peptides are short chains of amino acids that serve as intercellular communication signals. Messenger peptides inform fibroblasts that collagen and elastin have been degraded, triggering the production of new fibers. Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) inhibitor peptides block the enzymes responsible for the breakdown of collagen fibers under the effect of oxidative stress, UV rays and chronological aging. By combining both types, we act simultaneously on the production and the protection of dermal fibers, the two levers of long-term skin density.

Pigmentation irregularities are often approached with powerful depigmenting active ingredients that directly interfere with tyrosinase (the key enzyme of melanogenesis). Effective in the short term, some weaken melanocytes and can create areas of uneven depigmentation over time. A biomimetic approach regulates melanin production upstream, respecting the natural mechanisms of photo-adaptive defense. The goal is not to suppress melanin, but to rebalance its distribution for an even complexion that remains biologically healthy and functional.

What distinguishes a successful biomimetic formula from a simple list of active ingredients is the coherence of their interactions. The skin is not a sum of separate problems: barrier, firmness, radiance and microbiome work as a system.

A single biomimetic active ingredient already makes a difference. Several biomimetic active ingredients designed to support one another, respecting the logic of the skin layers, from the deepest to the most superficial, create a reinforcing effect that no isolated molecule can produce. It is the difference between giving the skin one ingredient and giving it back a complete recipe it recognizes. The first benefits observed are often subtle but significant. It is restored comfort: skin that no longer feels tight after cleansing, that reacts less to the cold, that holds up better throughout the day. Then, gradually, a complexion that evens out, dehydration fine lines that fade, a texture that smooths. Not because we forced a visible result, but because we supported the mechanisms that naturally contribute to its balance.

At MiYé, we are convinced that the future of skincare lies in a cosmetics that is more respectful of living things. A cosmetics that does not seek to correct the skin at all costs, but to understand how it works in order to support it better.

This approach to skincare guides all MiYé formulations. Each product is developed according to the principles of biomimicry in order to respect the skin's natural mechanisms and support it durably in its balance.

Our formulas combine carefully selected biomimetic active ingredients that work in synergy to support the skin's essential functions: protection of the skin barrier, comfort, hydration, firmness and radiance.

Because performance should never come at the expense of skin balance. And because skin supported with intelligence is often skin that ages better.

The Unifying Pro-Collagen Balm: biomimicry, layer after layer

Among our new products, the [MY] Unifying Pro-Collagen Balm brings together several of the active ingredients presented in this article, from the dermis to the surface.

It is a multi-purpose balm-mask: it is applied to the face, the eye and lip contour, and the décolleté. Its whipped texture leaves a matte finish, with no greasy effect. It suits sensitive skin and is compatible with pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Its formula is built around four objectives:

• Densify: Vitanol® Bio, a plant-based pro-collagen and pro-retinol from organic alfalfa, combined with plant-derived peptide extracts.
• Restore: biomimetic ceramides (Ceramide NP), identical to those naturally present in the skin, to support the skin barrier.
• Even out: a sea daffodil extract, to support complexion evenness.
• Balance: a postbiotic (Lactobiotyl®), to support the skin microbiome.

Squalene and aloe vera complete the formula to nourish and soothe the skin.

• Kohno Y. et al. — Singlet oxygen quenching activity of squalene. *J Lipid Res*, 1995
• Belkaid Y. & Tamoutounour S. — The influence of skin microorganisms on cutaneous immunity. *Nat Rev Immunol*, 2016
• Fowler J. — Colloidal oatmeal formulations and the treatment of atopic dermatitis. *J Drugs Dermatol*, 2012
• Chamlin S.L. et al. — Ceramide-dominant barrier repair lipids alleviate childhood atopic dermatitis. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 2002
• Zasada M. & Budzisz E. — Retinoids: active molecules influencing skin structure formation in cosmetic and dermatological treatments. *Postepy Dermatol Alergol*, 2019