By: ALEXANDRA CAVALLO
David Whitlock hasn’t showered in more than a decade. He doesn’t need to. The chemical engineer and cofounder ofAOBiome—a Cambridge startup pioneering the use of live bacteria in skin health products—practices what he preaches.
“It’s a crazy data point! He doesn’t have any skin issues; he doesn’t have any body odor,” says Jasmina Aganovic, an MIT grad and general manager of AOBiome’s new line of consumer products, Mother Dirt. “A lot of people think we need all these hygiene routines to be clean or to be healthy, but we’re starting to see that’s certainly not the case.”
That’s the idea behind Mother Dirt, which launched last month and includes a probiotic body mist, a cleanser and a shampoo. “The core technology is built around this bacteria that we used to have on our skin a long time ago, but we’ve wiped it out with a lot of modern hygiene habits,” Aganovic explains. “This bacteria is actually a keystone species for the skin; it has a huge impact on all the other microorganisms that exist on your skin. The fact that we’ve been wiping it out has created more of an opportunity for the ‘bad guys’ to take over.”
Those “bad guys,” she says, result in skin conditions ranging from acne to psoriasis. “Interestingly enough, all these skin issues are only present in very developed countries.” Mother Dirt aims to reintroduce those healthy bacteria to the skin’s ecosystem, where they consume sweat, resulting, Aganovic says, in clearer, healthier skin and, as Whitlock’s example suggests, less body odor.
“People think you need to use deodorant to not have body odor, and that’s not true,” Aganovic says. “Body odor is more of a modern challenge.”
For the record, Aganovic and many of her AOBiome colleagues don’t subscribe to the Mother Dirt regimen as stringently as Whitlock does (she still uses deodorant and makeup). But, she marvels, “I don’t have to use a moisturizer anymore. It’s cool to see your skin change that way.”
As for the challenge of selling a skin care product with “dirt” in its name? “We want to start a discussion about rethinking clean. We wanted a name that would challenge people, but could also turn into a rallying cry.”
The Future Is Now!
Or it at least feels that way in the Boston area. Between our buzzing startup scene and the research of our world-class hospitals and universities, th
By Improper Staff July 31, 2015
A Germ of an Idea
By: ALEXANDRA CAVALLO
David Whitlock hasn’t showered in more than a decade. He doesn’t need to. The chemical engineer and cofounder ofAOBiome—a Cambridge startup pioneering the use of live bacteria in skin health products—practices what he preaches.
“It’s a crazy data point! He doesn’t have any skin issues; he doesn’t have any body odor,” says Jasmina Aganovic, an MIT grad and general manager of AOBiome’s new line of consumer products, Mother Dirt. “A lot of people think we need all these hygiene routines to be clean or to be healthy, but we’re starting to see that’s certainly not the case.”
That’s the idea behind Mother Dirt, which launched last month and includes a probiotic body mist, a cleanser and a shampoo. “The core technology is built around this bacteria that we used to have on our skin a long time ago, but we’ve wiped it out with a lot of modern hygiene habits,” Aganovic explains. “This bacteria is actually a keystone species for the skin; it has a huge impact on all the other microorganisms that exist on your skin. The fact that we’ve been wiping it out has created more of an opportunity for the ‘bad guys’ to take over.”
Those “bad guys,” she says, result in skin conditions ranging from acne to psoriasis. “Interestingly enough, all these skin issues are only present in very developed countries.” Mother Dirt aims to reintroduce those healthy bacteria to the skin’s ecosystem, where they consume sweat, resulting, Aganovic says, in clearer, healthier skin and, as Whitlock’s example suggests, less body odor.
“People think you need to use deodorant to not have body odor, and that’s not true,” Aganovic says. “Body odor is more of a modern challenge.”
For the record, Aganovic and many of her AOBiome colleagues don’t subscribe to the Mother Dirt regimen as stringently as Whitlock does (she still uses deodorant and makeup). But, she marvels, “I don’t have to use a moisturizer anymore. It’s cool to see your skin change that way.”
As for the challenge of selling a skin care product with “dirt” in its name? “We want to start a discussion about rethinking clean. We wanted a name that would challenge people, but could also turn into a rallying cry.”
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