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Measuring and Modeling Contractile Drying in Human Stratum Corneum
Published on: March 1, 2017
Drying stress and damage processes in human stratum corneum.
1Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
International Journal of Cosmetic Science
|November 6, 2009
Summary
Drying stresses in stratum corneum (SC) impact skin function and damage. A new method quantifies these stresses, revealing their relationship with the environment and treatments, crucial for understanding dry skin.
Area of Science:
- Biophysics
- Materials Science
- Dermatology
Background:
- Stratum corneum (SC) drying stresses are vital for skin properties and dry skin damage.
- Quantitative methods to measure SC stresses and understand environmental/chemical effects are lacking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and apply a substrate curvature technique for quantifying SC drying stresses.
- To investigate the influence of drying environment, chemical exposure, and moisturizers on SC stresses.
Main Methods:
- Adaptation of a substrate curvature technique for biological tissues.
- Characterization of SC stresses over time under various pre-conditioning and drying conditions.
- Quantification of the effects of glycerol and surfactants on SC stresses.
Main Results:
- SC stresses increase up to approximately 3 MPa over 8 hours, dependent on pre-treatment and environment.
- A direct relationship between SC stress and environmental water content was established.
- Glycerol was found to reduce SC stresses, while damaging surfactants increased them.
Conclusions:
- The developed method accurately characterizes SC drying stresses.
- SC drying stresses are a key factor in dry skin damage, influenced by environmental and chemical factors.
- A biomechanical framework is proposed to link SC drying stress to dry skin pathogenesis.
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