Dr Rachna Murthy FRCOphth, is one of the UK’s leading Consultant Ophthalmologists and Eyelid Plastic & Aesthetic Surgeons. She was a consultant in the NHS for 13 years managing autoimmune disease with an integrated approach through the microbiomes.
- Multi-award winning surgeon based in London, Cambridge & Jersey
- Educated at Imperial College London with fellowships at Moorfields Eye Hospital & Melbourne Australia
- Former leader of Cambridge University Hospitals' Thyroid Eye Disease Service
- Safety in Beauty Aesthetic Doctor of the year 2024-25
- Aesthetics Awards Consultant Surgeon of the Year 2025
- Patient advocate & complications expert supporting Aesthetic Practitioners through Allergan Meducal Instutute
- TEDx speaker
- Co-founder of FaceRestoration & Maison Restorative
- inventor of Purifeyes antimicrobial spray (Clinical Health Technologies )
Talk Overview
Biohacking the Microbial Mantle™️: Unlocking Your Skin’s Ultimate Defense for Next-Level Aesthetic Results- Sponsored by W Wellness
This talk explores how harnessing the skin’s microbiome—the “microbial mantle”—offers cutting-edge, evidence-based opportunities for enhancing both skin health and clinical aesthetic outcomes. Dr. Rachna Murthy draws on two decades of pioneering experience, sharing her journey from advocating holistic, microbiome-led treatments for thyroid eye disease (once dismissed by surgical peers) to co-authoring leading reports on aesthetic safety and skin barrier preservation.
The presentation invites aesthetic clinicians to rethink beauty as an inside-out phenomenon, where the “rainforest” of skin and gut microbes is foundational to youth, resilience, and healing. Through vivid analogies and scientific evidence, the talk covers:
• The composition and protective roles of the skin and gut microbiome as a dynamic, defensive ecosystem.
• The risks of disruption (dysbiosis) from harsh skincare or nutrition, leading to inflammation, poor healing, and accelerated aging.
• A primer on prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics—their definitions, sources in diet and skincare, and importance for skin barrier function and regeneration.
• Navigation tools for clinicians: separating marketing hype from proven, safe microbiome-supportive products (highlighting Symprove, AWvi, Yotsuba, Hifas de Terra, and referenced academic guidance through the TFOS report).
• Practical integration of microbiome health into every aesthetic consult—boosting patient trust, outcomes, and overall wellness through a multidisciplinary, ecosystem-aware approach.