BIOJUVE

A clinical brand built on the skin microbiome rather than on actives. Where most of this part of the shop works by exfoliating, resurfacing or delivering a strong ingredient, BIOJUVE works on the mix of microorganisms living on your skin.

It is a small range, five products, designed to be used together as a complete routine rather than picked apart.

It suits people whose skin is reactive, congested or worn down by too many actives, and anyone who wants to work on skin health rather than chase a specific concern.

The Living Biome Essentials Duo Serum contains a live microorganism, cultured specifically for skin. That is unusual and it is the reason the brand exists.

Most products described as microbiome skincare contain prebiotics, which feed the bacteria already on your skin, or postbiotics, which are the by-products of bacteria. This one is different in that something in it is alive.

That has practical consequences. Follow the storage and use instructions on the pack rather than treating it like a normal serum, and pay attention to how the two parts of the duo are meant to be combined.

There are two and the only difference is the texture.

• Normal to Oily is the lighter one, and the better choice if your skin gets shiny by the afternoon or you dislike a rich cream
• Normal to Dry is richer, for skin that feels tight or looks flaky

If you are between the two, take the lighter one. You can always add something richer at night, and a heavy cream on skin that does not want it is the more uncomfortable mistake.

You can, but think about it more carefully than you would with a normal serum.

Strong exfoliation and antibacterial products are working against what BIOJUVE is trying to build, so running an acid toner, an exfoliating cleanser and a nightly retinoid alongside it is pulling in two directions at once.

The sensible approach is to keep BIOJUVE as the core of the routine, drop the exfoliants, and keep a retinoid on separate nights if you want one. If you are using it under a clinic's guidance, follow what they have told you instead.

Longer than an active, and the early weeks can be uneventful. You are changing the balance of what lives on your skin rather than resurfacing it, so there is no immediate glow to report.

Give it three months of consistent use before deciding. Skin comfort and how it behaves day to day usually shift before anything is visible in the mirror.

If your skin gets worse rather than quieter after the first few weeks, stop and speak to whoever recommended it.

This is one of the few brands where buying the routine rather than one product is the right call, because the products are built to work as a system.

• Conditioning Cleanse to wash with
• Living Biome Essentials Duo Serum as the treatment step
• A Hydrating Barrier Cream to finish, in whichever texture suits you

Biome Support Complex Serum sits alongside those if you want to go further. Add a sunscreen from elsewhere, since the range does not include one.