Application of a non-invasive method to study the moisturizing effect of formulations containing vitamins A or E or ceramide on human skin.

Moisturizers containing vitamins A and E as well as ceramides are believed to improve the skin condition by increasing the water content of the stratum corneum. The aim of this research was to evaluate, through the capacitance method (a non-invasive method), the moisturizing effect of an O/W emulsion (non-ionic self-emulsifying base) containing vitamin A palmitate, vitamin E acetate, and ceramide III on human skin. The studies were carried out on a group of 40 healthy Caucasian female test subjects between 30 and 45 years of age, using the Corneometer CM 825 PC. Skin measurements were taken from the volunteers at 7 and 30 days after daily use (twice a day) of the tested products. The presence of vitamins A and E or ceramide III did not cause an improvement in the hydration of the stratum corneum, which means that none of those compounds strengthens the hydration effectiveness of the base formulations used, at least at the doses tested. The interpretation of electrical measurement regarding skin moisture should be made with caution; thus the results observed in this study show the importance of using different approaches (or methodologies) to verify the performance of the formulas tested. We conclude that, at the low doses typically used in cosmetic formulations, vitamins A and E and ceramide III are not likely to contribute to the hydrating effects of the base moisturizing formulation when assessed by capacitance.