These Face Creams Give False Promises, Says Science
Plenty of skin creams tout their inclusion of liposomes — tiny, hollow spheres of complex fatty or waxy molecules called lipids, thought to defy the aging process. But putting faith in such salves could prove disappointing, as a new study has determined that liposomes are unable to penetrate the skin’s barrier without breaking.
The findings, published this week in the journal PLOS ONE, confirm those from a 2013 study.
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“This time we use a new method, and once and for all we establish that intact liposomes cannot penetrate the skin’s surface,” Jonathan Brewer, a University of Southern Denmark associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, noted in a press release. “Therefore, we need to revise the way we perceive liposomes — especially in the skin care industry, where liposomes are perceived as protective spheres transporting agents across the skin barrier.”
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The researchers were the first in the world to use a nanoscope — a Nobel Prize–winning microscope that can see unbelievably tiny molecules — to view the skin, which made it possible to see the individual liposomes. It also gave researchers new hope for liposomes, busted up or not, regarding the possible transport of medicines into the body.
"When the liposomes hit the skin and break, it is not certain that the active agents are wasted,” Brewer said. “It may well be that a chemical reaction starts, which somehow helps the agents travel through the skin barrier. So in a way you could say that the liposomes might work — but then it is in a different way than the beauty industry tells us.”
(Top photo: Andrea Buso/Gallerystock)
