Body Lotion Technology Breaks the Dry Skin Cycle

Dry body skin continues to be the top unmet cosmetic skincare consumer need around the world. In the U.S., 80% of women claim dry skin and more than 70% say they are dissatisfied with their current body lotions. However, skincare research and product developments have predominantly focused on facial skin rather than body skin.  Several years ago, P&G Beauty scientists set out to tackle body skin in a truly holistic manner by first, developing a coherent technical model to explain it; and second, using this knowledge to create product formulations that address the mechanistic principles underlying the new model.

The Dry Skin Cycle is a new model that explains the induction and propagation of the dry skin condition in otherwise normal human skin as a cyclical model.  Once the skin has been provoked by one or more of the primary induction mechanisms, there is an inevitable sequence of events that may be described conveniently as a cycle.  The cycle is dependent on stratum corneum integrity, particularly upon barrier function and homeostasis essential for controlling stratum corneum water flux, content and enzymatic reactions within the stratum corneum. It is implicit that intervention at multiple points within this cycle is necessary to arrest the progression of this continuing downward spiral. The Dry Skin Cycle inhibits skin's ability to:

• Hydrate itself
• Renew (exfoliate) its outer layers
• Replenish natural moisturizing factors (NMFs)
• Repair its moisture barrier

During the Dry Skin Cycle, a frenzy of skin cell overproduction takes place in an effort to compensate for the disrupted moisture barrier. The desquamation process slows, producing a thick, dull cell layer. "In the course of everyday life we move through a sequence of both outdoor and indoor environments that, over time, quietly assault the skin. If the Dry Skin Cycle is addressed at multiple points, the cycle will be attenuated, barrier function improved and desquamation normalized, leaving skin better prepared to cope with both internal and external stressors," said Dr. Peter Elias, M.D., University of California at San Francisco.

This modernized thinking has been published in the Dermatology Foundation's Progress in Dermatology series entitled Stratum Corneum Moisturization at the Molecular Level: An Update in Relation to the Dry Skin Cycle. "This publication is the first update in ten years sought to bring a comprehensive review of all that was known about the skin hydration mechanism. This new review proposed by P&G Beauty scientists brings the reader up to date with the vast amount of knowledge gained in this area, but with particular reference to the Dry Skin Cycle," said Paul Matts, Ph.D., P&G Beauty Research Fellow.

Proprietary Formulation Breaks the Cycle

In order to break the cycle of dry skin, P&G Beauty scientists created a unique High Efficacy Body Moisturizer (HEBM) formulation, which synergizes the power of niacinamide, glycerin and seven amino acids (NMFs) found naturally in skin, to help interrupt and reverse the cycle of dry skin. An innovative new delivery system using encapsulated microsensor particles allows for high levels of active ingredients without the traditional trade-off of the heavy, sticky and tacky feel. This leads to high consumer acceptance and ongoing compliance.

In clinical tests the HEBM formula was able to target the barrier improvement itself, not merely the skin symptoms. In the study (Matts, ICCS 256), the new body lotion significantly reduced dry skin appearance immediately after application and after 14 days better than the five conventional moisturizers compared in the study. Moreover, the skin barrier was significantly improved and able to protect the skin from future moisture loss. This was measured by subjecting the skin to mechanical damage. The skin treated with the new HEBM lotion was able to prevent transepidermal moisture loss better than skin treated with no lotion or with conventional lotions.

The HEBM was able to significantly improve the skin's ability to augment the natural moisturizing factor and maintain stratum barrier structure even post-insult, indicating an intervention in the self-perpetuating dry skin degenerative process.