CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF HUMAN SKIN SURFACE LIPIDS FROM BIRTH TO PUBERTY.

Skin surface lipids from the foreheads of 51 subjects between the ages of five days and fifteen years were analyzed by quantitative thin-layer chromatography. The cholesterol concentrations were low at birth, at maximum levels at six years of age, and low again, almost to adult levels, at nine years. Conversely, average concentrations of wax esters were high at birth, low between the ages of three and six years, and rising towards adult levels by nine years. There was no significant change in the combined concentrations of triglycerides plus free fatty acids during development. Concentrations of squalene were highly variable, in contrast to the constant proportions previously reported for adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]