Basics of Skin Care

Medical skin care restores the unity of medicine and cosmetics lost in the middle ages. During this time,
the unity of health and beauty was sacrificed for the benefit of purely scientific considerations. Science stopped taking into account the more general aspects of well-being and cosmetics forgot the medical aspects. Body hygiene and care, fundamental to maintaining good health, play a vital role in disease prevention and adjuvant care. Today, cosmetic dermatology takes this idea a step further.

The Goals of Medical Skin Care
Healthy skin is for the most part, the result of a balance of moisture and oils, along with the physiological
pH of the skin's surface that determines the skin flora. Medical skin care products use various active ingredients to reinforce the skin's protective functions and correct imbalances. Applying moisturising
factors and lipids normalises disturbed skin and helps prevent the development of disease.

Moisture Supply - hydration & moisturising
Introducing water into the horny layer - hydration - is very easy. The water phase of a skincare emulsion
can supply the skin with an abundance of water in a very short time. However, the desired effect of moist skin lasts for only a short time: The skin quickly loses moisture through evaporation. Moisturisers, substances capable of binding water, so that it cannot escape by evaporation, achieve a longer-lasting effect through occlusion (absorption).

Lipids - sebaceous, barrier
The lipid phase of a skincare emulsion restores the required lipids, the most important two being:

• 1.Sebaceous Lipids - constituents of sebum which form a relatively less occlusive film on the skin.
  Adding sebaceous lipids to dry, oil deficient skin restores the normal skin condition.
• 2.Barrier Lipids - primarily ceramides, cholesterol and free fatty acid, especially linoleic acid are
  found in the stratum corneum. The make-up of the horny layer's permeability membrane is mostly determined by the content of these epidermal lipids. Topical application of skin-related lipids can
  improve the permeability membrane.