Is your skin crawling? Researchers say a "virtual zoo" lives on our skin

We've all watched the TV news specials that show us highly amplified images of the microscopic creatures that live on our skin. If those shows make your skin crawl, you might not want to read any further. Researchers, who now have better technology available to them than in the past, say that over 200 different species of bacteria flourish on our skin's surface and that 8% of them found were previously unidentified.

Calling it a "virtual zoo of bacteria," researchers in the study say we all may have our own personalized collection. Before you run off to the shower with a loofah, remember that those teeny hitchhikers are mostly friendly and are doing your skin a favor. In fact, with today's showers lined with special skin cleansers and chemically laden products, we may be doing more damage than good to our skin with our daily personal hygiene routines. (It also makes me wonder about antibacterial products and what they do to the friendly bacteria living on our skin.)

Experts hope to use this finding to learn more about what causes skin conditions like eczema and psoriasis and to develop techniques to treat them.