SKIN CARE AND THE BARRIER FUNCTION

Research on the mechanism of the homy layers barrier function has been
conducted since the mid 1980s employing electron microscopy and molecular
biology techniques. Recent reports have suggested that skin care bases may have a
beneficial effect on metabolism and homeostasis of epidermis. Investigators have
relied on hairless mouse and human skin in this research. The focus has been on the
skins barrier function and the mechanism by which it is maintained, including
pathological features of biochemistry and molecular biology. Moreover the
physiological effects of skin care product bases on the skin were demonstrated
through use of cell cultures, something that would not have been possible using
conventional techniques. Recently reported barrier function related research with
impact on future development of skin care products will be discussed in the next
sections.

EFFECT OF EXTERNALLY APPLIED LIPIDS

HAL 355

The intercellular lipids of the horny layer consist mainly of cholesterol free fatty
acids and ceramides. When such lipids are applied to the skin surface, the lipid
molecules are thought to penetrate into the horny layer and to be taken up the
epidermal cells, they are then used in the formation of the intercellular lipid
structure as cornification proceeds. The stratum corneums barrier function is
disrupted by tape stripping and treatment with acetone or certain surfactans. Its
recovery process is differently, depending on the type of lipid or lipids applied to the
skin surface.
The result of such experiments have been very interesting. If the lipids are
applied singly or two at a time, recovery of the barrier function is delayed. However,
recovery of the barrier is promoted by use of a mixture of three types of lipids
especially when the molar ratios are equal or by mixtures in which linolenic and
palmitic acids are present at mole ratios three times those of other consistuents.
But when the barrier function is disrupted by surfactant, this effect is not
consistently observed. For example, when the barrier function is disrupted by Nlauroyl sarcosine (free acid), enhanced recovery is observed, but not if disruption is
the result of sodium dodecyl sulfate exposure. In addition, recovery may very with
the age of the animals.
It appears that the external application of lipids has varying effects on
epidermal functions, depending on the composition of the lipid preparation, the age
of the subjects, and the type of damage causing treatment. It would seem desirable
to design the reparative lipid base on the basis of the age of the users, the cosmetic
used, and the type of barrier damaging agent. The pathological changes that occur
with changes in barrier function are discussed under effect of occlusion.

EFFECT OF IONS AND PH

Cosmetic bases contain large amounts of chemical salts, and in some cases their
ions may effect epidermal function. If the barrier function is disrupted by treatment
with acetone, application of calcium and potassium ions inhibits its recovery.
Sodium and chloride ions have no effect. The blocking of antagonist and calcium
and potassium channels has the effect of preventing the inhibition of recovery by
calcium and potassium ions. If calcium ions are forced into the epidermis by
sonophoresis to increase the calcium ion concentration in the upper epidermis, the
extracellular secretion of lamellar granules is suppressed. On the other hand, when
a calcium free solution is (HAL 356)
forced into the epidermis to decrease the upper epidermis calcium concentration,
this has the effect of promoting the extracellular secretion of lamellar granules so
that granules accumulate between the granular layer and the horny layer. Calcium
concentration increases gradually from the basal layer toward the granular layer,
but the gradient also disappears abruptly as cornification proceeds. The
concentration gradient also disappears with disruption of the barrier function but
returns to normal as the barrier recovers. Occlusion after barrier disruption inhibits
both barrier function and calcium ion gradient recovery. In a study of essential fatty
acids using deficient animals, a study in which a cholesterol synthesis inhibitor was
applied and an area of psoriasis (disruption of barrier function) was created on the
skin, the calcium ion concentration gradient in the epidermis was consistently
abnormal. Calcium ions and the calcium ion concentration evidently play very
important roles in the maintenance of the barrier function and thus in regulating the
production and release of lamellar granules as well.(HAL 357)
Cosmetic bases are generally adjusted to be weakly acidic. This practice
stems from the weakly acidic pH of the skins surface, but slight acidity is also
important for maintaining epidermal functions. The pH of the epidermis is related to
barrier function maintenance. When the barrier function has been disrupted, the
application of a neutral buffer solution (pH 7.4) inhibits its recovery, while a weakly
acidic buffer (pH 5.4) does not. Though a mechanism to explain this difference has
not yet been found, it is though to be due to lowered activity of Bglucosylcerebrosidase, an enzyme that plays an important role in barrier formation
by hydrolysing cerebrosides to free ceramides. The optimum pH for this enzyme
activity is weakly acidic, its activity would be reduced if the pH of the epidermis
became neutral or basic.
The pH of skin care products must therefore be adjusted in order to avoid
interference with the biochemistry of diverse epidermal functions and to maintain
the efficacy of pharmaceutical agents.

EFFECT OF OCCLUSION (HAL 357)

Cream and other skin care products can cause occlusion in the epidermis.
The effect of occlusion on the function and biochemistry of the epidermis have been
gradually elucidated.
If the barrier function is disrupted and the skin is then covered with latex or
other clinging film to prevent the passage of moisture, a series of processes
required for barrier function may be disrupted. For instance, the synthesis of lipids
and the production and release of lamellar granules is inhibited, obstructing barrier
function recovery. When the occlusion is effected with a material, such as Gore Tex,
which does not compietcly prevent the passage of moisture, barrier function
recovery is not inhibited. Barrier function disruption increases the production of DNA
in the epidermis, the density of epidermal Langerhans cells, and proliferation of
other cell types. These change are completely or patially inhibited when occlusion is
effected using a film that does not allow the passage of moisture.
However, the increase in cytokine production due to barrier perturbation is
not inhibited by occlusion. If untreated skin is subjected to occlusion, the size of the
interleukin pool is reduced, while its release is inhibited with barrier disruption. It
has been observed that barrier disruption also promotes the prenilation of epidermis
proteins. The investigation of these events, triggered by barrier disruption and the
effect of occlusion, has been conducted primarily on rodent skin. Nevertheless,
control of the release of the above factors including cytokines may thus be
extremely important for the development of agents for sensitive skins.

MOISTURE BALANCE (HAL 358)

Maintenance of the barrier function is very important in improving the overall
skin condition, which can be achieved through the supply of lipids and salts to the
skin. It is critical, while doing this to supply these constituents to an appropriate
location and in an appropriatre form. These features are also important for the
utility of skin care products.
In the case of a topical drug this kind of utility need not be considered, but in
the context of cosmetics for skin care utility it is a significant as the efficacy of the
pharmaceutical agent. For instance, petrolatum and other hydrocarbon preparations
are often applied externally as medicinal products for the simple care of dry skin.
Such substance are expected to be very effective for this condition in view of their
occlusive effect. However, their utility is poor because of their stickiness. On the
other hand, fatty acids and higher alcohols may be very desirable in terms of utility
but produce virtually no occlusion when applied alone. Such oily ingredients are,
nevertheless, important ingredients for skin care products. Other important
ingredients are natural moisturizing factor (NMF) components, such as amino acids,
and humectants, such as polyhydric alcohols. The penetration of the horny layer by

humectants plays an important role in fact, they do not penetrate well when applied
alone, which is particularly true in the use of ionic ones.
The components of the horny layer include NMF constituents in keratinized
cells that can retain moisture. The cells are sorrounded with a covering of lipids. The
basis of skin care is to maintain this spesific structure, and this concept has been
embodied in the moisture balance theory. A combination of oily components,
humectants and water in an emulsion should be a most effective form for skin care.
In the future it will become increasingly important to design skin care products on
the basis of the moisture balance concept as well as of the physiology of the skin
barrier function. These issues are discussed later in this chapter.

CREAM SKIN CARE PRODUCT

TYPES OF SKIN CARE PRODUCTS

There are no limits to the variety of products that can be created for the purpose of skin care.
Generally, products such as sunscreens or tinted foundation preparations, include ingredients intended to
improve skin condition. This chapter is limited to products for which skin care or skin protection is the
primary objective.
There is another approach dividing skin care products by viscosity. The distination between a skin
care lotion and a skin care cream on the basis of pourability from a container or of a viscosity
measurement is, however ignored in the following discussion. HAL (359)
Skin care products commonly are emulsions or clear or translucent preparation their texture may vary
from fluids to solids. Despite the extraordinarily wide variety of skin care products on the market,
consumers prefer emulsified preparations for skin care. As will become apparent subsequently emulsions
are most likely to provide optimal efficacy for skin products. Consumer acceptance of skin care
preparations is complicated by the fact that emulsions may be dispensed in jars or squeezable containers
(tubes), by pumps of from bottles. Thus, the terms gel, cream, lotion, and milk describe a continuum of
products. What is critical are the components that are included to provide a desirable and efficacious
product.
Creams and lotion are emulsions consisting of two immiscible liquids, for example water and oil,
with one of them forming the dispersed phase and the other the continuous medium. The dispersed phase
distributed in the continuous medium in a stable state (see chapter 10). Creams are semisolids and are the
classic type of skin care cosmetics because of their wide range of stability. These semisolid viscous
preparations can be formulated to contain oils, humectants, water, and other ingredients. As noted, the
viscosity of skin care products can range from a pourable liquid to an unctuous solid when the viscosity
of the emulsion is so low that it flows due to gravity, the product is called a (milky) lotion.
The raw materials used in the preparation of skin care products are so many and so varied that it
is impossible to mention them all. There are also many excellent and effective formulations for creating
shelf stable preparations of such materials that it is similarly impossible to identify all of them. Further, as
new ingredients emulsifiers, softening agents, and humectants are constantly being employed in skin care
products, any listing of them would soon be out of date.

Thus the materials and formulations discussed in this section are generally those that have been
widely used for a long period of time they are still highly valued and should be considered as starting
products on which the development of new skin care products can be based. Suppliers make continual
efforts to develop novel formulations in order to demonstrate the excellence of their products. Cosmetic
chemist should not blindly follow such formulae but use them as a reference study them, and utilize them
for the development of their own formulations.
Traditionally cosmetic skin care preparations have been sold by type and by function, that is
according to their advertised mode of application and packaging claims. For this reason consumers have
always differentiated emulsion cold creams from emulsion night creams. However, this is not a very
distinctive classification because of overlapping visual appearance, feeling on the skin ease of spreading,
and rub in characteristics. Thus creams cannot be classified by function alone, and consumers are guided
by their own judgments, using the manufacturer's indications of functions, effects, and quality only as a
guide.
However, cosmetic chemists should view this problem in terms of physics and chemistry. This
includes such aspects as the water to oil ratio, characteristics of the continuous phase, pH of the emulsion,
type of softening agent used, and the melting point of the oil phase.
There are some relationships between skin care product categories when they are ranked by
function (based on the marketer's intended use) and by subjective judgment (based on user's perception).
Another way of comparing skin care preparations may be based on the lipid levels of different types of
marketed products. When oil content data are compared directly with the intended use of more than 230
products, a modest relationship between functional descriptions and actual compositions is revealed:
Cleansing and night creams oil levels cluster at about 30-60%.
Hand and body creams rarely contain more than 20% lipids.
Vanishing creams generally contain 10-30% of an oil phase.
Lotions and milks may contain as little as 3% and rarely more than 10% of oil.