Why microbes?
Here you can read more about things such our microbial extract, ingredients and the skin's microbiome.
Reconnecting Nature™ is a solution developed by Finnish universities to restore a lost nature connection. Our gentle products include an ingredient that improves the immune system.
The microbial extract derived from Finnish nature is proven to support and strengthen the immune system. The innovation is the product of the joint Adele project of the University of Helsinki and Tampere University. The project develops ways to prevent immune-mediated diseases including most allergies, asthma, autoimmune diseases and inflammatory bowel diseases. According to current understanding, a rapid increase in these is explained by reduced, unilateral exposure to microbes, whereas repeated exposure to nature prevents them.
Reconnecting Nature™ is a forest bath in the comforts of your home. Using a Moi Forest product with a microbial extract on a daily basis gives you a diverse nature exposure and boosts your immune system. Your defence mechanism will benefit from the diverse Reconnecting Nature™ microbes: the products that contain forest dust® balance your unique microbiome, boosting the immune system.
Moi Forest products contain high-quality organic ingredients that protect the skin and support skin balance.
The ingredients have been selected to enable forest dust® to function on the skin in an optimal way. The products include as many natural, non-chemically modified organic ingredients as possible in order to support beneficial microbes. The products do not contain surfactants and silicone and petroleum derivatives, which are strong preservatives that disturb the skin’s normal microbial balance.
The products are COSMOS Organic-certified and manufactured at an Ecocert-controlled production site. To ensure transparency, product information includes mention of each ingredient’s function in the product and whether it is organic.
The first 2–3 years play a crucial role in the development of a child’s immune system. It is vital to ensure that children get sufficient exposure to diverse microbes.
As most of the immune system’s tissue that recognizes invading entities is located in the gut, anything that enters through the nose, ears, mouth or lungs ends up identified by the gut. It’s why little children like to eat sand and soil and tend to put everything in their mouths. The immune system is put to the test when it has to try and identify risks and non-threatening factors. Healthwise, what the immune system reacts to is as important as what it doesn’t react to. If it reacts to everything, it’s broken.
Also the skin has receptors that are learning to identify beneficial microbes for the immune system. Microbes in the skin and intestines communicate via the central nervous system and blood circulation, thus doing their part for the immune system.
The first 2–3 years play a vital role in the development of the immune system. It’s when the body learns to identify which microbes get to settle permanently in the body. It’s extremely important to make sure a child comes in enough contact with a diverse range of microbes. Especially microbes in forest soil and at livestock farms play a significant role, as they cause enough “stimulus” for strengthening the immune system. Through the skin, these microbes effectively put the immune system through its paces, offering protection from allergies and autoimmune diseases.
More and more people live in cities with diminished nature contacts. Immune systems are no longer exposed to beneficial bacteria in nature, which are our friends. Nature keeps us healthy. Moi Forest offers products that restore that vital nature connection also in urban settings.
Microbiome = All the microbes that live inside the body (microbe genes)
The body is a complex system. In addition to human cells, the body’s functions are based on the activity of microbes like bacteria, viruses and yeasts. Microbes play an important part in our bodies for instance in terms of digestion, producing neurotransmitters and the immune system. The body offers good living conditions for microbes, while microbes help it function as it should – it’s a symbiotic relationship!
Each microbe has a certain pH range it thrives in. Microbes that maintain skin balance thrive when the pH level of the skin is slightly acidic, about 3.5–5.5. Moi Forest products are optimized to this level. The pH level in some soaps can be as high as 9, which kills certain microbes, disturbs the healthy microbial balance of the skin and predisposes the skin to inflammation.
Along with diverse microbial exposure and nourishing ingredients, the skin repairs and cares for itself.
The effect of Reconnecting Nature™ microbial extract, i.e. forest dust®, through skin exposure in adults
The first study on the effects of Reconnecting Nature™ microbial extract on healthy adults living in urban areas showed that applying forest dust® onto the skin for a duration of two weeks affected the microbiota as well as intestinal microbes. The study was carried out by the University of Helsinki and Tampere University.
Effects of forest dust® exposure in a kindergarten environment
The effects of forest dust® can be utilised also in other forms in an urban environment. In addition to topical creams, the microbiome of children can be strengthened for instance by bringing forest microbiota to a sandbox.
Article in Finnish.
Article in English.
Study published in Science Advances Magazine.
Study on the effects of urbanization on the microbiome
Living conditions in western urban environments and areas of detached houses are in stark contrast to life in for instance Russian Karelia. The study compared the microbiome of Finnish school children and that of their peers a 100 kilometers away across the Russian border. The aim was to clarify whether the differences in the microbiome explains the significantly higher number of allergies and autoimmune diseases in Finland. The results were clear: Finns lacked microbial exposure to forest soil, domestic animals and well water that shield from allergies and autoimmune diseases.
You can find more information in PubMed.
Increase in allergies linked to modern lifestyle
A western lifestyle characterized by sterile food and living environments seem to result in an increase in allergies. The immune system does not receive the diverse exercise it needs, which results in its inability to identify what is a risk factor and what is not.
Please find more studies on the topic in ScienceDirect.
Effect of omega fatty acids on the skin
The Moi Forest product formula supports the beneficial effects of forest dust®. Cold-pressed organic plant oils in the products compensate for the lack of omega fatty acids in skin cells and improve the skin’s moisture-binding properties. This boosts the skin’s natural protective barrier and maintains microbial balance.
Read about a study carried out by Oregon State University on the ingested and topical use of omega fatty acids.
A diverse microbiome is the key to good health; avoid a lifestyle that is too sterile. Go to the woods and, if possible, tend to your garden or pot plants on your balcony. Wash the laundry, do the dishes and clean your home with gentle, eco-friendly solutions. Think about getting a pet and let it kiss your face. Encourage your children to play in the mud and take them into the big outdoors.
If the forest is too far, don’t worry. In the middle of the humdrum, the daily use of Moi Forest products is an easy way to boost a diverse microbiome. The forest dust® in the products is proven to be most effective when applied to the skin. The high concentration of microbial extract makes sure the microbiome gets good exercise and support through the skin.
