Role of Stratum Corneum Lipids as Moisture Retaining Agent

Abstract
The water holding ability of the stratum corneum is related to the bilayer structured epidermal lipids by comparison of these lipids with the lamellar liquid crystal of free fatty acid/soap/water. The extraction rates of lipids from the stratum corneum in vivo recently observed by Imokawa and Hattori are related to the specific location of the different lipids within the epidermal bilayer structure.