Ceramides
Ceramides enhance the natural skin barrier and promote skin moisturisation.
What are ceramides?
Ceramides are essential lipids naturally contained in the outermost layer of skin. They make up ~50% of the outer layer of skin and form a crucial part of the skin’s barrier from the outside world.
What do ceramides do for the skin?
Ceramides work with fatty acids and cholesterol to provide the skin with a natural protective barrier against environmental stressors, including irritants and pollutants. This helps aging skin stay looking radiant for longer. Ceramides help in creating a lipid barrier that prevents skin permeability and prevents the skin from losing moisture. By preventing water loss, ceramides help to avert dryness and maintain skin flexibility. When the skin lacks ceramides, it can lead to dryness and irritation, contributing to skin sensitivity.
Ceramides Benefits
One of the most important parts of the skin’s surface architecture the extracellular lipid matrix of the stratum corneum, which is made from ceramides and other important molecules. The extracellular matrix provides a supportive structure for skin cells and helps bind them together to form a compact and effective skin barrier. Ceramides contribute to the hydrophobic properties (repels water) of the matrix.
By boosting the hydrophobic features of the extracellular matrix, ceramides are able to prevent moisture loss from the epidermis and keep moisture locked in.
The skin barrier is a complex structure that helps maintain the body’s integrity and protects it from external factors such as microbes and pollutants. Ceramides are an important part of this skin barrier as they form a key part of the lamellar sheets in the upper layer of the skin. These lamellar sheets form the lipid barrier that maintains hydration and stratum corneum flexibility.
Ceramides are a crucial ingredient in helping skin maintain a youthful radiance– they improve the function of the skin’s barrier, allow the skin to retain its moisture over a longer period of time, and help prevent structural conformations that cause fine lines and wrinkles. The skin’s natural ceramide levels can decrease due to the aging process and environmental stressors. Therefore using a product that contains ceramides can help improve the skin's barrier functionality and moisturisation.
