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Hydration of the Skin Surface

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Textbook of Aging Skin

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Abstract

The stratum corneum (SC) samples obtained from dry scaly skin changes such as senile xerosis, ichthyosis, and various inflammatory dermatoses including psoriasis and eczema show very poor content of water-holding substances. Clinically we can quickly assess the hydration state of the skin surface by using the electrical methods that measure either skin conductance or capacitance for high-frequency current. Moreover, we can obtain information about the hygroscopic property as well as the water-holding capacity of such SC within a few minutes by serially measuring the changes occurring in these electrical properties after application of a water droplet on the skin surface just for 10 s. Moreover, studies employing an in vitro simulation model of the SC confirmed that the conductance measurements are suited for the evaluation of the skin after application of topical moisturizing agents, whereas capacitance measurements are suited for the evaluation of dry skin or scaly skin changes. Lastly, by comparing the skin of the same individuals between summer and winter, we can find that there occur seasonal changes in SC hydration showing that the skin surface hydration state is significantly lower in winter than in summer if measured in the identical climate-controlled conditions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan

    Hachiro Tagami

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  1. Hachiro Tagami
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Correspondence to Hachiro Tagami .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Procter & Gamble Co., Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

    Miranda A. Farage

  2. Procter & Gamble Co., Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

    Kenneth W. Miller

  3. Department Dermatology, University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, San Francisco, California, USA

    Howard I. Maibach

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© 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Tagami, H. (2015). Hydration of the Skin Surface. In: Farage, M., Miller, K., Maibach, H. (eds) Textbook of Aging Skin. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27814-3_66-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27814-3_66-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27814-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine

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