Before Karen Ballou founded Immunocologie, she spent many years in the beauty industry helping clients achieve their best skin as an esthetician, as well as supported clean beauty brands in reaching their full potential as a brand consultant. But even before that, Karen was incorporating beauty and wellness into her own life in a number of ways. Karen has always integrated healthy habits into her life, whether that was eating healthy, exercising, getting plenty of sleep, and of course using the right skincare.

As both an educator and formulator, Karen is well aware that our skin reacts to much more than what we put on it, which is why she's always placed an emphasis on total body wellness throughout her career. So when beauty blog power duo Lipgloss + Aftershave reached out to see if Karen was interested in explaining how clean beauty can benefit the skin's microbiome and the gut-skin connection, we knew we had to jump at the chance.

Here, watch as Karen takes a deep dive into the microbiome, explaining what it is, why it's important, how to keep it healthy, and more.

If you're looking for more expert education for skincare professionals, check out the Lipgloss + Aftershave app—available in the Apple and Google Play stores. Here you'll find industry articles, promos, webinars, and more on the latest topics in professional skincare. Enjoy!