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Non Invasive Diagnostic Techniques in Clinical Dermatology pp 357–366Cite as

Skin Capacitance

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to describe the commercial electrical capacitance method for measuring skin hydration, the Corneometer 825 with the new digital probe, in comparison with the older analog system. In vitro calibration and validation experiments were considered on cellulose and filter pads using different solvents in order to estimate the influence of electrolytes and the evaluation of water desorption kinetics. Measurements over different layers of low dielectric plastic foils were used in order to estimate the detection depth of the hydration measurements.

In vivo measurements were considered on various skin sites covering a large range of hydration status going from very dry to well-hydrated skin areas. The intraperson variability was lower for the digital probe (7.2 %) compared with the analog probe (8.7 %). Sensitivity of the capacitance method was very good at low and very low hydration levels while sensitivity decreases at very high levels of hydration. The influence of external factors such as pressure of application and environmental factors (temperature, relative humidity) and seasonal variation is discussed.

Keywords

  • Stratum Corneum
  • Skin Surface
  • Capacitance Measurement
  • Analog Probe
  • Capacitance Method

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Mr. Gabriel Khazaka and Mrs. Diana Khazaka, Courage-Khazaka Electronic Köln, for technical information concerning the Corneometer CM 825 and MPA.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Human Biometry and Biomechanics, Faculty of Physical Education and Physiotherapy, Free University of Brussels (VUB), Pleinlaan 2, B-1050, Brussels, Belgium

    André O. Barel PhD & Peter Clarys PhD

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  1. André O. Barel PhD
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  2. Peter Clarys PhD
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Correspondence to André O. Barel PhD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Dermatology, San Gallicano Dermatological Institute, Rome, Roma, Italy

    Enzo Berardesca

  2. Dermatology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, California, USA

    Howard I. Maibach

  3. Proderm, Schenefeld/Hamburg, Germany

    Klaus-Peter Wilhelm

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Barel, A.O., Clarys, P. (2014). Skin Capacitance. In: Berardesca, E., Maibach, H., Wilhelm, KP. (eds) Non Invasive Diagnostic Techniques in Clinical Dermatology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-32109-2_33

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-32109-2_33

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