Key takeaways
- Advanced Nutrition Programme spent seven years developing Skin Integrate 28 Biome Powder.
- The formula combines prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics to support the gut–skin axis.
- Backed by 48 clinical studies, it includes 28 science-based ingredients for skin and gut health.
- Human trials showed 100% improvement in hydration and reduced redness in 70% of participants.
- Tested for purity, potency, and environmental responsibility, with zero pesticide detection.
UK-based brand Advanced Nutrition Programme has recently launched its latest beauty-from-within innovation: Skin Integrate 28 Biome Powder, a functional powder that took seven years of research and development.
The product is backed by 48 clinical studies and includes prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics to support the gut–skin axis. The formula is free from dairy, GMOs, and sweeteners, and has also been third-party tested for heavy metals and screened for more than 650 pesticides.
According to Lorraine Perretta, who is Head of Nutrition at Advanced Nutrition Programme, the team formulated Skin Integrate 28 “to ensure your gut receives a combination of positive fiber and polyphenols for happy skin and a happy gut.”
Gut microbiome and the gut–skin axis are hot topics in the beauty and wellness industries right now, but while Perretta clearly has impressive knowledge around this, she also states that she is “humble in the face of the research” and acknowledges that it is a new area of discovery that current science only scratches the surface.
“At the last conference I went to, one speaker said we will find out in 10 years’ time if what we are doing right now is only a little piece of the puzzle, or even completely wrong,” she said.
The science behind Skin Integrate 28 Biome powder
The new Skin Integrate 28 powder combines 28 science-backed ingredients, including amino acids Glutamic Acid, Aspartic Acid, and Glycine to support collagen formation, provide antioxidants, and encourage wound healing; Vitamin C to contribute to normal collagen formation within the skin and protect cells from oxidative stress; and zinc to help maintain normal skin, bones, and hair and support the metabolism of vitamin A.
The ingredients include green vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, and kale, as well as algae extracts of chlorella and spirulina; red fruits such as beetroot, apple pomace, tomato, cranberry, tart cherry, raspberry, and strawberry; proprietary blends of apple, carrot, cranberry, and blueberry fibers; black rice; orange, pineapple, and kiwi extract; and dragon fruit. These act as prebiotics to feed the microbiome.
The aim of the product is to increase the abundance of beneficial bacteria within 48 hours and support the production of postbiotics. In turn, it then offers brighter, more resilient, and hydrated skin, as well as general health benefits such as improved regularity, energy, and focus.
Perretta said that the business typically takes five to seven years to create a product, so the seven-year R&D stretch to create this innovation wasn’t out of the ordinary for the brand.
“We have a lot of criteria for ingredients we use in our products, such as purity and potency, but also we have a social responsibility section and an environmental section,” she explained. “Often all of that looks good but then when we test the ingredients before mixing them, we can sometimes find a problem.”
“For example, 23 of the ingredients are plant fibers and these are very tough to get right,” she said. “We make sure they are free from 650 pesticides — I mean, who knew that there were even 650 different pesticides? But there have been no pesticides detected in our tests and that is what took the most time in our R&D and testing.”
How gut health influences skin resilience and hydration
Perretta says that the brand also tests its formulations on humans rather than relying solely on previously published studies.
“We do proof-of-concept studies so we can be confident in what we put out on the shelf,” she explained.
For 28 Biome Powder, the test subjects reported 100% improvements in skin hydration, while 70% reported a reduction in skin redness.
“We were really happy with these results and then decided to do another little side study that measured people’s stools because we were interested to see if it made a difference,” she explained. “All the research and ingredients’ suppliers said, ‘yes it did’, but we wanted to see it ourselves.”
Perretta said that after subjects took the powder once a day for two weeks, researchers found that three key beneficial gut bacteria increased, while gram-negative bacteria, linked to inflammation, decreased.
“I think these are really great indicators for a little powder that you mix with some water,” she said.
Perretta also added that one of the test subjects had suffered with severe IBS for 20 years but said that all her IBS symptoms stopped after just a few weeks of using this product. Meanwhile, other people reported less redness, better sleep, and improved energy levels.
“With our gut bacteria, I feel like they figure out what you need,” she said.
“We had 30 people on this study and when we measured the parameters, we looked at the table to see the pattern and I realized that everyone got different results, but they were all the results they needed,” she continued.
“I think because this (our microbiome) is living, they can make a choice on what it is you need. When you feed them, they just go out and do their thing. They want us to be healthy because then they have a place to live. They are invested in our health.”
