The average person's skin contains around 1 trillion bacteria. The bacteria called either skin flora, skin microbiome, or skin microbiota are microorganisms which live on the skin. There are around 1,000 species which are largely found in the layers of the epidermis, the outer most layers of the skin, and hair follicles. Bacteria living on human skin are essential as they help with vitamin production, boost the immune system, and protect humans from bad bacteria called pathogens.
More about bacteria:
- The Human Microbiome Project, launched in 2008, was created to identify and characterize the microorganisms associated with healthy and diseased humans.
- There are more bacterial cells, nearly 10 times more, in the human body than human cells.
- Humans are born without bacteria living inside them, but within the first few years of life start to develop a microbiome.