Chemistry

If you’ve just joined us, please check out this post on the chemistry of your skin before reading onwards… If we think of the corneocytes in the stratum corneum as “bricks”, then the stratum corneum lipids are the mortar. (The water soluble natural moisturizing factor is found inside the corneocytes; the lipid soluble stratum corneum...

Natural moisturizing factor (NMF) is found within the corneocytes, and makes up 20% to 30% of the dry weight of the stratum corneum. It consists of amino acids (40%), sodium PCA (12%), lactate (12%), urea (7%), ions (18.5%), sugars (like glycerol – 8.5%), and a few other things. These are water soluble humectants (meaning they...

When your skin cells reach the top layer of the stratum corneum, they will sit there for about 14 days before sloughing off. This process is called desquamation or exfoliation. Interestingly enough, there is so much scientists don’t know about this process. Scientists know there are enzymes that will break the bonds between the corneocytes,...

I know I wrote a post of this nature last year, but I thought it was time to write a more detailed series of posts on the chemistry of our skin if we’re going to take a look at formulating for different skin types. Your skin is composed of three layers – the epidermis, the...