Hyle Morphe

Skincare ritual of bacteria

Hosted by

This project is now archived and was part of DDW21

This project is part of
I Hear What You're Seeing

The tea algae

Studio Uncoated

Our culture of over-cleansing the body seems to harm the responsiveness of the skin's tactile sensors. The aim of this project is to revive the symbiotic relationships we may have with probiotic bacteria. Proposing a skincare ritual that benefits the continuance of the organism.

Waste product for skincare

Hyle Morphe represents the way in which we, as humans, allow nature to determine its own form. De Fijter believes that we can only explore major issues such as the climate problem by becoming one with non-human organisms and absorbing their knowledge. This project focuses on the material 'cellulose', obtained from the waste product of Kombucha beverage fermentation. Several designers have already experimented with this material, primarily for use as a fashion item. During her research, De Fijter briefly discovered that the material resulting from the fermentation process contains probiotic value. This was an interesting insight into its possible relevance for our skincare (acne, for example). For this reason, it was decided to keep the material alive in order to investigate its interaction with our skin.

Living materiality

Why should we, as consumers, continue to accept the many toxic substances in materials in our living environment when it is also possible to do it differently? The perception of the interaction with positive bacteria needs to change. Its added value needs to become apparent and part of our daily beauty ritual. To find this answer, De Fijter has made the material commercially interesting. She examined the esthetical criteria determining whether consumers will accept this material (colour, smell and texture). But also the scalability of the production of this material. The core of her methodology is based on observing and trying to understand how each process proceeds by using her own senses. In order to follow the organism in its response to type of food, temperature and processing methods.

Future application

The material is fully biodegradable and has a shelf life of at least 8 months. After usage, the material can be safely put into the earth as a nutrient for the soil. She is currently working on a product elaboration with this material. This will be presented during DDW21. She is looking for cooperation partners and investors to bring this material to the market.