A Dermatological View—Percutaneous Penetration of Amino Acids

Skin care products containing amino acids often promote the benefits conferred on the skin by these molecules. Natural amino acids found in the skin have been found to improve the health of skin through antioxidation, membrane stabilization and increasing skin’s natural moisturizing factor (NMF),¹ a compound known to increase hydration and firmness of skin. In addition, amino acids in the stratum corneum have been found to increase the penetration of water to lipids, which plumps skin and decreases the appearance of wrinkles.¹ However, limited information is available on percutaneous absorption of amino acids, which this column will quantify by assembling previously published data.