Study: Treatment of Dry Skin Using Multifunctional Moisturizer

The process that leads to dry skin is complex, including many factors with varying importance in its severity. These factors must be considered when creating topicals to help treat this skin issue. Therefore, a 3-week moisturization study on dry skin on legs was conducted and published in the International Journal of Cosmetic Science.

The study included measurements of traditional and more recently developed biophysical methods to combine them with visual assessment of skin condition enabling multiple aspects of skin function to be determined, the article explained. These methods were used to evaluate the effects of an oil in water-based moisturizing product compared to an untreated site during the in vivo study on dry lower leg skin.

There were statistically significant improvements demonstrated in skin hydration—assessed by Corneometer (Epsilon) and visual dry skin grading, and skin barrier function —measured by transepidermal water loss. Other improvements seen were increased levels of cholesterol, free fatty acids, and Ceramide NH. Also, the average length of the stratum corneum (SC) lipid lamella bilayers, and the ratio of lipid to protein increased—measured using Lipbarvis and in vivo Confocal Raman Spectroscopy, the article further explained. The non-statically significant changes seen were increased levels of Ceramide EOS and NP, along with an improvement in corneocyte maturity.

“Product usage resulted in significant improvements to skin hydration and barrier function, the levels and morphology of SC barrier lipids, and overall epidermal differentiation,” the authors wrote. “As a result, there was a significant reduction in the characteristics associated with the development of dry skin after use of the test product.”

Reference:

Stettler H, Crowther JM, Brandt M, et al. Targeted dry skin treatment using a multifunctional topical moisturizer. Int J Cosmet Sci. 2021;43(2):191-200. doi:10.1111/ics.12680