Review Article

Cleansing Formulations That Respect Skin Barrier Integrity

Figure 1

Depiction of how surfactants within a cleanser can remove SC material and also remain in the SC. The lengths scales of the cartoon at the left are inaccurate; corneocytes have diameters ~20 μm, while the micelles sizes are ~5 nm. At the right, a molecular-level illustration of ordered SC lipids (ceramides, cholesterol, and fatty acids) and surfactants from a cleanser inserting into these ordered SC lipids.
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