Evaluation of the efficacy of skin care products by laser scanning microscopy

The skin represents the largest organ of our organism and is the barrier to the environment. UV sun radiation and environmental hazards damage our skin. Therefore, it is the aim of skin care products to protect the skin from damage and stimulate the regeneration. The efficacy of skin care products for barrier improvement is usually analyzed by transepidermal water loss measurements (TEWL). This method is suitable for the investigation of the untreated skin. Topically applied products can influence the TEWL measurements. In vivo laser scanning microscopy is a new approach for analyzing the barrier function of the skin. This method is not disturbed by topically applied formulation. In the present paper, laser scanning microscopy was used in comparison to TEWL measurements for the characterization of the skin care product Bedan-Gesichtscreme®