SKIN CARE 45
Targeting lipids for the care of dry skin
Melanie Coirier, Noémie Lopez-Ramirez, Elodie Aymard, Helene Muchico, Brigitte Closs - Silab
The skin is the body’s first line of defence, ensured especially by the barrier function. When the latter is altered, the skin progressively loses its defence capabilities, making it vulnerable to dehydration, redness and premature and visible signs of ageing. In particular, this is the case for dry skin, or skin
irritated by the use of certain molecules such as retinol, which requires care products combining protection and comfort.
Skin dryness Skin dryness would involve almost 30% of the adult population.1
by a perturbation of the barrier function and increased transepidermal water loss.2
This skin type is characterized Hydration is
reduced and microrelief is irregular in individuals with dry skin. In addition, skin dryness can also be a source of discomfort, causing tightness and itching. The relationship between modification of the
barrier function and the perturbation of lipids is nowadays commonly admitted. From a functional standpoint, the stratum corneum is composed of stacked corneocytes embedded in a lipid matrix in a brick-and-mortar system.3 This naturally hydrophobic shield prevents
skin dehydration, and its efficacy depends on its composition (ceramides, cholesterol and free fatty acids) and on its structure (conformation and organization).4 As a result of their repairing properties,
restructuring active ingredients enhance beauty and resiliency. By guaranteeing an effective and functional cutaneous barrier, they protect against aggressions from the environment and delay the onset of signs of ageing. They therefore represent strategic solutions to meet the specific needs of dry or irritated skin. Silab thus developed a restructuring natural
active ingredient that targets the lipid disorders of dry skin identified through a novel modelling study. To this end, the company leveraged its expertise in enzyme engineering and put in place a non-denaturing process enabling the extraction of a proline-rich peptide fraction from flowering tops of cornflowers (Centaurea cyanus).
Establish the lipid signature of dry skin and target their molecular disorders In the epidermis, rupture of the barrier function seen in dry skin is related to a modification of the lipid matrix composition and structure that
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reduces the skin’s resiliency when faced with external stresses.4 Up to the present, examining the relationship
between lipids and skin dryness had been limited to determining the total quantity of lipids or the targeted study of certain specific classes and sub- classes such as ceramides. In addition, markers of the conformation and organization of these lipids have rarely been considered. In order to understand the extent of changes in
the lipid matrix when barrier function is impaired, a ground-breaking modelling study was carried out. The lipid signature of dry skin was determined using omics technologies and optical biopsies. The modelling study, analyzing simultaneously
the lipid composition by lipidomics and their structure (conformation and organization) by Raman microspectroscopy, was conducted in vivo in two groups of Caucasian women volunteers, with normal or dry skin. A normal skin group was composed of
19 volunteers (mean age of 56 ± 6 years old with a mean TEWL of 3.9 ± 0.6 g/h/m2
and a mean
hydration level of 42 ± 10 AU) and a dry skin group composed of 15 volunteers (mean age of 53 ± 10 years old with a mean TEWL of 7.1 ± 1.8 g/h/m2 and a mean hydration level of 24 ± 6 AU) (Figure 1).
Study of the lipid matrix composition Epidermal lipids were sampled from the external side of the calves using swabs previously imbibed with a mixture of ethyl acetate. After sampling, lipids were extracted in a mixture of solvents (tert- butyl methyl ether/methanol (70/30)) containing three internal standards (C17 ceramide at 0.1 µg/ mL, cholesterol-d7 at 4 µg/mL and heptadecanoic acid at 15 µg/mL). Samples were then injected in the LC-MS/MS system on the day of analysis. A pool of all samples was prepared and
injected throughout the analysis as quality control. Lipids were separated on a CSH C18 column and detected by mass spectrometry in MSe mode using separation and detection conditions that were optimized with lipid standards. Areas under the curve of lipids were then
calculated with Waters Connect software of the instrument. Progenesis QI software was used for alignment of chromatographic peaks, normalization and the integration of ions detected. All data were analysed with statistical methods
to identify lipids that were significantly modulated between normal and dry skin. Study results were visualized as a cloud of point in which the x-axis represented the variation between dry and normal
March 2026 PERSONAL CARE MAGAZINE
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