International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2015, 37, 181186

doi: 10.1111/ics.12180

Influence of a multiple emulsion, liposomes and a microemulsion

gel on sebum, skin hydration and TEWL
D. Mahrhauser*, C. Nagelreiter*, A. Baierl#, J. Skipiol* and C. Valenta*,
*Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmaceutics, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Vienna, Vienna 1090, Austria, Research
Platform Characterisation of Drug Delivery Systems on Skin and Investigations of Involved Mechanisms, University of Vienna, Vienna 1090,
Austria and #Department of Statistics and Operations Research, University of Vienna, Vienna 1090, Austria

Received 02 September 2014, Accepted 06 November 2014

Keywords: formulation/stability, liposomes, microemulsion gel, multiple emulsion, sebum content, skin barrier, skin hydration, skin physiology/structure,
transepidermal water loss

Synopsis
OBJECTIVE: In this study, the influence of three cosmetically relevant, priorly characterized vehicles on skin hydration, sebum content and transepidermal water loss was investigated. The chosen
vehicles included a liposomal pre-formulation, a multiple W/O/W
emulsion and a microemulsion gel. The in vivo effects of these vehicles were demonstrated and compared among them.
METHODS: The stability of the prepared vehicles was determined
visually, microscopically, rheologically by pH measurements and
particle size. Interactions with skin were assessed by non-invasive
biophysical techniques using the Corneometer, Aqua Flux and
Sebumeter, measuring skin hydration, TEWL and skin sebum content, respectively.
RESULTS: All vehicles remained stable over an observation period
of 6 weeks. The multiple emulsion increased sebum content and
skin hydration. In case of the liposomes, each monitored parameter
remained almost constant. In contrast, the microemulsion gel lowered skin hydration and increased TEWL values, but even 1 week
after termination of the treatment TEWL decreased almost close to
control levels.
CONCLUSION: All produced vehicles were proven to remain physically stable over the duration of this study. The used multiple
emulsion showed very skin-friendly properties by increasing sebum
and skin hydration. Likewise, the liposomal pre-formulation exhibited no negative effects. On the contrary, the investigated microemulsion gel seemed to have skin dehydrating and TEWL
increasing features. However, the multiple emulsion as well as liposomes was identified to be well-tolerated vehicles for skin which
might qualify them for the use in cosmetic formulations.

sume


Re
OBJECTIF: Dans cette
etude, linfluence de trois v
ehicules
cosm
etiquement pertinents, pr
ealablement caract
eris
es, sur lhydratation de la peau, le contenu de s
ebum et la perte insensible en eau a

et
e
etudi
ee. Les v
ehicules choisis sont notamment une pr
e-formulation liposomale, une
emulsion multiple W/O/W et un gel de
Correspondence: Claudia Valenta, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology and Biopharmaceutics, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14,
1090 Vienna, Austria.
Tel.: +43 1 427755410; fax: +43 1 42779554; e-mail: claudia.valenta@
univie.ac.at

micro
emulsion. Les effets in vivo de ces v
ehicules ont
et
e d
emontr
ees

et compar
ees entre elles.
METHODES: La stabilit
e des v
ehicules pr
epar
es a
et
e d
etermin
ee
visuellement, au microscope, par rh
eologie, par des mesures de pH
et de la taille des particules. Les interactions avec la peau ont
et
e

evalu
ees par des techniques biophysiques non invasives utilisant le
Corn
eometre, Aqua Flux et s
ebumetre, pour mesurer lhydratation de la peau, la PIE et le taux de s
ebum de la peau, respectivement.
RESULTATS: Tous les v
ehicules sont rest
es stables sur une p
eriode
dobservation de six semaines. L
emulsion multiple augmentait le
taux de s
ebum et lhydratation de la peau. Dans le cas des lipo peu pres constant. En
somes chaque parametre surveill
e est rest
e a
revanche, le gel en micro
emulsion r
eduit lhydratation de la peau
et augmente les valeurs de PIE, mais une semaine apres larr^et du
traitement la PIE a diminu
e presque a presque retrouv
e les valeurs
de d
epart.
CONCLUSION: Tous les v
ehicules produits ont montr
e une stabilit
e physique pendant toute la dur
ee de la pr
esente
etude. L
emul la
sion multiple utilis
ee a montr
e des propri
et
es tres favorables a
peau en augmentant le s
ebum et lhydratation de la peau. De
m^eme, la formulation liposomale pr
eformul
ee na montr
e aucun
effet n
egatif. A linverse, le gel de micro
emulsion test
e semblait
ass
echer la peau et augmenter la PIE. Cependant, l
emulsion multiple ainsi que des liposomes ont
et
e identifi
es comme des v
ehicules
pour la peau bien tol
er
es qui pourraient les qualifier pour lutilisation dans les formulations cosm
etiques.
Abbreviations
IPM: isopropylmyristate
ME: microemulsion
SC: stratum corneum
TEWL: transepidermal water loss
Introduction
Currently, for cosmetics, several promising vehicles, originally
developed as dermatics, are available. Although the focus of interest in dermatics lays in optimizing drug delivery, the main task of
cosmetics is protection, care and strengthening of the skin barrier
function [1]. Moreover, maintaining a healthy skin prevents the

2014 Society of Cosmetic Scientists and the Soci
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181

D. Mahrhauser et al.

Influence of different vehicles on skin

penetration of toxic noxa into the skin. Dermatologically as well as

cosmetically important parameters that can be used to estimate the
skins health state are sebum content, skin hydration and TEWL.
As not only the final prepared formulation, but also the vehicle
itself interacts with the skin, three interesting vehicles each belonging to a different type were examined in this study regarding their
influence on skin. The selected vehicles were a multiple W/O/W
emulsion, a liposomal preparation and a microemulsion gel, whose
physical stability was ensured prior to the performed skin study.
Multiple emulsions are complex systems consisting of both W/O
and O/W emulsions, thereby providing an additional layer [2].
Globules of the dispersed phase encapsulate smaller droplets, which
are mostly identical with the continuous phase [1]. Hence, we further investigated whether the additional layer exhibited a positive
impact on skin hydration, sebum or TEWL.
The second vehicle type of this study was DPPC liposomes. They
are long known vehicles described to have, either empty or moisture-loaded, a positive impact on skin hydration and TEWL, thus
being suitable for treatment of dry skin [1]. The third vehicle was
from the group of microemulsions, defined as thermodynamically
stable and transparent. Specifically, we investigated a jellified
microemulsion in terms of skin hydration, sebum and TEWL.
The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of these three,
priorly characterized vehicles on sebum content, skin hydration
and TEWL and to compare the results among them. The TEWL
represents the diffusion of condensed water through stratum corneum (SC). Therefore, an excessive TEWL indicates a disruption of the
skin barrier and a drying out of skin [3]. Also the skin hydration,
describing the water content of the SC, is an indicator for a healthy
barrier, thereby being suitable for verifying positive or negative
effects induced by the applied vehicles [4]. Moreover, the skin surface lipids substantially contribute to skin hydration. Both, skin
surface lipids and water content of the SC, form a balance that is
important for the appearance and function of the skin which is
why sebum content was also evaluated [5]. Skin parameters were
assessed by non-invasive biophysical techniques using the Corneometer, Aqua Flux and Sebumeter, measuring skin hydration,
TEWL and skin sebum content, respectively.

Table I Composition of the employed formulations in % (w/w)

Distilled water
DPPC
IPM
Easynov
S-1670
Isopropanol
Lipoid S75
Carbopol 940
TRIS

Liposomes

W/O/W

ME gel

92.5
7.5

76

20
1.5
2.5

19.42

19.42

30
30
1
0.16

DPPC liposomes
DPPC Liposomes were prepared by a modified film hydration
method [6]. Briefly, a DPPC film was formed and hydrated with bidistilled water. After 2 h of agitation in a water bath heated up to
60C, the produced cloudy suspension was sonicated with a Bandelin Sonoplus HD 70 ultrasound device (Berlin, Germany) with an
operating frequency of 20 kHz and a power output of 70 W for
15 min resulting in an opalescent liposomal pre-formulation.
Microemulsion gel
From our previous studies, we chose a microemulsion consisting of
lecithin, isopropyl alcohol, isopropylmyristate and water. To have
an optimal applicable cosmetic vehicle, we increased the viscosity
by adding a polymer. The components and half of the intended
water were mixed in the ratio stated in Table I. The other half was
used for preparing a carbomer gel concentrate. Subsequently, the
carbomer gel concentrate was thoroughly incorporated into the
microemulsion and stirred with 750 rpm over night until a
viscous, transparent microemulsion gel resulted. The production
process was consistently carried out at room temperature.
Characterization and stability analysis of the used systems

Materials and methods

Materials
Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and soybean lecithin Lipoid
S75 were kindly donated by Lipoid (Ludwigshafen, Germany). Isopropylmyristate, Carbopol 980 and trometamol were purchased
from Herba Chemosan (Vienna, Austria). Easynov was kindly
donated by Seppic (Cologne, Germany). Sucrose stearate (Ryoto
Sugar Ester S-1670) was a gift from Mitsubishi-Kagaku Foods Corporation (Tokyo, Japan). All other materials were obtained from
Sigma-Aldrich (Vienna, Austria).
Multiple W/O/W emulsion
The multiple W/O/W emulsion was prepared according to a method
developed by our working group. In short, the hydrophilic and the
lipophilic phases were heated up separately. The hydrophilic phase
was heated up to 45C, whereas the lipophilic phase was heated up
until the surfactants dissolved around 90C. In the final step, the
phases were mixed gradually and stirred for 20 min at room temperature with 750 rpm. Its composition is listed in Table I.

182

Physical characterization methods were employed to ensure the

identity of the prepared systems. Moreover, these methods were
also used to analyse their physical stability. For this purpose, the
initial values, directly measured after production, were compared
with those after a storage time of 6 weeks. Except for liposomes
that were stored cool in a dark place, all preparations were stored
at room temperature in a dark place.
Microscopic evaluation
Microscopic examination was performed once directly after production to verify the isotropic nature of the developed microemulsion
gel and to confirm the absence of liquid crystalline phases by polarized light microscopy (Nikon GmbH, Dusseldorf, Germany), data
not shown.
Rheological measurements
To measure the viscosity of the prepared systems, an MCR Modular
Compact Rheometer 302 (Anton Paar, Graz, Austria) was used. In
case of the multiple emulsion, a coneplate measuring device of

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International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 37, 181186

D. Mahrhauser et al.

Influence of different vehicles on skin

50 mm, and for liposomes and the microemulsion gel, a coneplate

measuring device of 25 mm diameter, was utilized, employing a
gap size of 0.101 mm. The temperature was maintained at
23
0.2C. Flow curves were recorded with increasing and
decreasing shear rates from 1 to 100 s1 and vice versa. All measurements were carried out in triplicate.
Particle size determination

of both volar forearms were divided into three subareas. In these

subareas, either skin hydration, sebum content or skin barrier
function was measured on both arms; however, the preparations
were only applied on the non-dominant forearm. Before starting
the trial, the skin parameters were also analyzed on the non-dominant forearm and these values were indicated as week 0. All following data recording was performed weekly, 2 and 6 h after
treatment. The same procedure was conducted on the untreated
arm that served as control. The study was carried out for 5 weeks.

Mean particle sizes of the multiple emulsion were determined by

laser diffractometry using the Mastersizer 2000 (Malvern Instruments, Malvern, U.K.) at 25C as in the previous studies described
[7]. The parameter obtained in this study was the d(v, 0.5). All
samples were analyzed in triplicate. In case of liposomes, droplet
size measurements were performed with a Zeta Sizer Nano ZS (Malvern Instruments, Malvern, U.K.) by photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS). The liposomes were diluted 1:10 (v/v) with distilled
water, and three aliquot amounts were measured. In case of laser
diffraction span and for PCS, the poly dispersity index (PDI) is given
in Table II expressing the quality of particle distribution. Particle
size determination of the microemulsion gel was not conducted
because dilution of the microemulsion, as required for the measurement, would have modified the microstructure.

Skin hydration measurements were performed with a Corneometer CM 825 (Courage+Khazaka electronic GmbH, Cologne, Germany) which was mounted on the combination device Derma Unit
SSC 3 (Courage+Khazaka electronic GmbH). The determination is
based on the changes in electrical capacitance [8]. An increased
water content of the SC increases its relative permittivity. The
device can therefore estimate the SC water content in arbitrary
units. In each testing area, two measurements were performed on
the volar forearm. We ensured that the measurements were not
made consecutively on the same position to exclude the occurrence
of occlusive effects that would imply higher hydration values.

pH measurement

Sebum measurements

The pH value of all vehicles was determined using a pH meter

(Orion 420A; Bartelt, Vienna, Austria) at room temperature
(25C). The measurements were carried out in triplicate.

The amount of sebum on the skin was measured with the integrated Sebumeter of the combinated device Derma Unit SSC 3
(Courage+Khazaka electronic GmbH). To this end, the probe was
pressed onto the skin, according to the manufacturer, for 30 s. A
thin plastic strip within the device absorbed the sebum on the skin.
By measuring the variation of light transmission of the strip, the
quantity of lipids was determined and directly given in lg cm2. In
each testing area, two measurements were performed.

Study design
Twenty-one randomly chosen, healthy Caucasians of both sexes,
aged between 19 and 35 years who signed an informed consent,
participated in the study. They were randomly divided into three
groups using one of the three prepared vehicles, namely DPPC liposomes, a W/O/W multiple emulsion or a microemulsion gel. An
amount of 0.2 mL of the respective vehicle was applied once daily
on a defined area of about 40 cm2 on the non-dominant forearm
by the participants. Before the measurements, the volunteers were
acclimatized to ambient conditions (22
2C and 30
5% r.h.)
for 20 min. For the measurement of the skin parameters, the areas

Skin hydration measurements

Transepidermal water loss measurements

The skin barrier function was determined with the closed-chamber
device AquaFlux (Biox Aquaflux, London, U.K.). The measuring
chamber is separated from the surrounding atmosphere and
measurements are thus not influenced by external air convection
and turbulence [4]. Two measurements were carried out in the

Table II Stability parameters of the prepared formulations. All measurements were carried out in triplicate, depicted values are means
SD. Viscosity was
determined at a shear rate of 10 s1

W/O/W

pH
Week 0
Week 6
g (mPa.s)
Week 0
Week 6
Size (nm)
Week 0
Week 6

6.04
0.02
5.99
0.06
14.76
5.73
8.58
1.81
440
0.04
530
0.08

Span

ME gel

1.34
0.43
1.31
0.34

4.50
0.01*
4.84
0.02*

3.99
0.01
3.96
0.04

1500
0.1
1380
0.09

2.96
0.00
2.76
0.00

n.m.
n.m.

Liposomes

PDI

0.274
0.02
0.255
0.02

77.04
4.71
76.96
3.69

n.m., not measured.

*Significantly increased values (P < 0.05).

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Influence of different vehicles on skin

Statistical analysis
Statistical data were analyzed using the software program GraphPadPrism3. Normal distribution of measurements was assessed
visually by plotting observations as well as by applying QQ plots.
Destabilization of vehicles and effects of vehicles on physiological
skin parameters were tested for statistical significance using Students t-tests. Paired t-tests were carried out in case of repeated
measurements on same subjects. Unpaired t-tests with Welch correction in case of unequal variances were applied when comparing
measurements between subjects. Mean effects of vehicles on physiological skin parameters and corresponding standard errors are presented graphically. A probability of P < 0.05 was considered
statistically significant.
Results and discussion
The prerequisite for a study that investigates different physiological
parameters in vivo is the defined physicochemical characterization
of the employed vehicles. Therefore, the three vehicles were analyzed visually, microscopically, rheologically, by pH and in case of
liposomes and the W/O/W emulsion also by particle size.
As clearly seen in Table II, all three vehicles showed an almost
constant viscosity at a shear rate of 10 s1. However, the viscosity
of the W/O/W emulsion and of the microemulsion gel decreased
after the observation period of 6 weeks, whereas for liposomes, no
change in viscosity values was detected. Decreasing viscosity in
W/O/W emulsions which indicate small water diffusion from the
inner aqueous phase to the outer continuous phase was also
described by Jiao et al. [9]. Besides, the visually and microscopically
pictures did not imply any phase separations or unbalanced distribution.
Additionally, pH measurements were carried out to detect destabilization of the systems induced by chemical degradation [7]. The pH
values of the multiple emulsions and of liposomes showed no statistically significant difference (P = 0.3 and P = 0.27 respectively) over
the period of 6 weeks. In case of the microemulsion gel, an significant increase in pH from 4.50 to 4.84 was observed after 6 weeks
(P = 0.001), which could indicate a beginning destabilization induced by
oxidation or hydrolysis of the employed ingredients (Table II). However,
the measured pH values of the preparations were in an acceptable range
for topical use [10].
Although the particle sizes could not be measured in the microemulsion gel, as the dilution of the microemulsion would have
modified the inner structure of the system, the particle sizes of the
W/O/W emulsion and liposomes were almost stable over the observation period of 6 weeks (Table II). Moreover, a narrow size distribution of the W/O/W emulsion and liposomes was confirmed by
span and PDI values, respectively.
After confirmation of the satisfying physicochemical stability of
the three vehicles, their influence on the physiological skin parameters such as sebum, skin hydration and TEWL was investigated. With
the exception of one unforeseeable skin reaction of one participant
from the microemulsion gel group, no other side effects occurred during the study period. This participant dropped out in the later process
of the study. Another participant from the liposomes group was
excluded from the analysis due to non-reliable compliance.

184

In Fig. 1, the sebum contents after application of the pre-formulations are compared. Due to the very small number of sebaceous
glands in the forearm, the sebum values of the untreated areas
were negligible [8]. It can be clearly seen that the W/O/W and the
microemulsion gel exhibited the highest influence 2 h as well as
6 h from application. The liposomes had a slight influence which
can be due to the lower lipid amount (one-third of the lipid amount
than in the other vehicles) or due to their considerable absorption.
Moreover, it is remarkable that the positive impact of the W/O/W
emulsion 6 h from application was more pronounced in week 25
indicating a high cumulative effect (Table III).
However, no implication of sebum production and lipid increase
induced by the lipids of the vehicles can be made, because the
Sebumeter only measured the lipid content on the surface of the
skin. Hence, it is more likely that the measured increase in sebum
content mentioned above was caused by the lipids of the vehicles
[8]. Nevertheless, a relationship between the increased sebum values and skin hydration caused by the multiple emulsion can be
observed that was possibly the result of occlusive effects of the
incorporated oily component such as IPM [3, 11, 12]. In contrast,
increased sebum values found after application of the microemulsion gel were not associated with enhanced skin hydration
although the microemulsion gel had approximately the same content of lipid. In case of the microemulsion gel, either the high
sebum amount can originate from the oily component (IPM) incorporated into the microemulsion gel or this effect might be attributed to the high amount of surfactant and isopropanol. It is known

35
W/O/W

30

ME Gel

Sebum [g cm2]

designated testing area of the volar forearms. One week after the
last application, the TEWL was measured again to determine the
sustainability of the effects.

25

Liposomes

20
15
10
5
0

6h

2h

week 1

2h

6h

week 25

Figure 1 Comparison of skin lipid content 2 and 6 h after application of

the vehicles to the untreated area (control). Values of the controls were
about zero. The calculated amounts from week 2 to 5 are presented averaged and termed as week 25. Given values are means
SE (n 6).

Table III Comparison of mean sebum measurements between week 1 and

week 25

2 hours
6 hours

XWOW1
[lg cm2]

XWOW25
[lg cm2]

XWOW1XWOW25
[lg cm2]

Pvalue

20.21
2.36

22.14
3.57

1.93
2.09
1.21
1.59

0.39
0.47

Depicted values are means and mean differences
SE. P-values were
obtained by paired t-tests (n = 7).

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D. Mahrhauser et al.

Influence of different vehicles on skin

week 1

30

2h

where Ti and Ui are the mean values of the treated and untreated
forearm at timepoint i. Accordingly, T0 and U0 are the mean values
of the treated or untreated forearm before the treatment at the
beginning of the study. Therefore, T0 and U0 served as reference
values.
As shown in Fig. 2, the multiple emulsion yielded a higher
change in skin hydration than the other examined preparations.

(a)

TEWL [g m2 h1]

that surfactants such as lecithin and alcohol are capable of dissolving lipids. As a consequence, the extracted skin surface lipids may
induce increased sebum values. Moreover, it has been reported that
the absence of the lipids, which are complementing factors for skin
moisture, was accompanied by a significant decrease in skin hydration that could also be observed in this study in case of the microemulsion gel [5].
Skin hydration can be influenced by proper vehicles, such as
moisturizing or oleaginous vehicles, by active ingredients incorporated into the formulation or via physical occlusion [13]. In Fig. 2,
the effects of the vehicles on skin hydration are compared. To
emphasize and to compare the influence of the applied vehicles, we
established following equation:


Ti T0
Skin hydration
=
 1 i 2 fweek 1; week 2  5g 1
Ui U0

2h

20

16

6h

20

10

week 0 week 1 week 2 week 3 week 4 week 5 week 6

(b) 24

Treated 2 h
Untreated 2 h
Treated 6 h
Untreated 6 h

TEWL [g m2 h1]

10
20

W/O/W

30

ME Gel
40

Liposomes

50

Figure 2 Influence of the applied multiple emulsion, liposomes and microemulsion gel on skin hydration 2 and 6 h from application (means
SE,
n 6). The calculated amounts from week 2 to 5 are presented averaged
and termed as week 25. Skin hydration was calculated as shown in
eqn (1).

Table IV Comparison of the effects on skin hydration among the employed

vehicles

Week 1

2h

6h

Week 25

2h

6h

XWOW [%]
18.9
XWOW-XLipos
16.26
4.66
XWOW [%]
10.54
XWOW-XLipos
11.12
4.89
XWOW [%]
19.32
XWOW-XLipos
20.51
4.48
XWOW [%]
12.78
XWOW-XLipos
15.69
3.53

XLipos [%]
2.64
P-value
0.0051
XLipos [%]
0.58
P-value
0.0527
XLipos [%]
1.19
P-value
0.0008
XLipos [%]
2.91
P-value
0.0010

XME gel [%]

5.73
XWOW-XME gel
13.17
6.19
XME gel [%]
3.57
XWOW-XME gel
14.11
5.46
XME gel [%]
39.49
XWOW-XME gel
58.80
4.52
XME gel [%]
44.21
XWOW-XME gel
56.99
4.06

P-value
0.057

20

16

12

8
week 0

(c) 24

TEWL [g m2 h1]

Skin hydration [%]

Treated 2 h
Untreated 2 h
Treated 6 h
Untreated 6 h

12

week 25
6h

24

20

week 1 week 2 week 3 week 4 week 5 week 6

Treated 2 h
Treated 6 h
Untreated 2 h
Untreated 6 h

16

12
P-value
0.0239

8
week 0 week 1 week 2 week 3 week 4 week 5 week 6

P-value
P < 0.0001

P-value
P < 0.0001

Depicted values are means and differences between means
SE. P-values
were obtained by unpaired t-tests (n 6).

Figure 3 TEWL values estimated 2 and 6 h after application of the vehicles. TEWL was measured on both forearms 1 week before beginning of the
treatment (week 0) and weekly during the study. To demonstrate the sustainability of the vehicle effects, TEWL was also investigated 1 week after
the last application (week 6). The dashed line from weeks 5 to 6 represents
the period without treatment. (a) TEWL before, during and after treatment
with the multiple emulsion. (b) TEWL before, during and after treatment
with liposomes. (c) TEWL before, during and after treatment with the microemulsion gel.

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The difference in skin hydration was 13 and 16 percentage points

when compared to the microemulsion gel and liposomes, respectively (see Table IV). One week of application of the multiple emulsion increased skin hydration by about 19% after 2 h and about
10% after 6 h. Moreover, a longer treatment even resulted in a further increase in skin hydration after 2 h as well as after 6 h. The
skin hydration may be increased by occlusion or by providing
water from the vehicle to the stratum corneum [12]. Although liposomes had the highest water content, their hydrating effect was
marginal. Interestingly, application of the microemulsion gel only
increased skin hydration after 2 h in week 1, while 6 h after treatment in week 1 as well as the treatment in the following weeks led
to a strongly decreased skin hydration indicating a drying out of
skin even though the microemulsion gel and the multiple emulsion
had almost the same oil amount. As mentioned above, this might
be due to the high amount of surfactant and isopropanol in the microemulsion gel.
The transepidermal water loss (TEWL) is a very good marker for
an intact barrier function of skin with standard TEWL values of
human forearms ranging from 11 to 12 g m2 h1 which are in
accordance with the values of our previous study [14]. Therefore,
the TEWL values after application of the three investigated vehicles
were compared. It can be pointed out that independent of the application time, neither W/O/W nor liposomes had a notably influence
on the skin barrier (Fig. 3a,b). On the contrary, treatment with the
microemulsion gel revealed increased TEWL values indicating a
barrier disruption that might be due to their high surfactant content in combination with a high content of cosolvent isopropanol.

These results are in good agreement with literature data [13].

Figure 3c shows the importance of taking into account the duration of treatment. The longer the treatment, the higher the TEWL
values. Nevertheless, the impairment of the barrier function was
reversible because even 1 week after termination of the application,
TEWL decreased close to the control levels suggesting a regeneration of skin barrier.
Conclusion
The positive influence of appropriate vehicles on sebum content,
skin hydration and TEWL could be demonstrated. The W/O/W
emulsion proved to be most suitable in terms of skin hydration and
sebum content. Although the microemulsion gel exhibited a positive influence on the sebum content, a negative influence was seen
in TEWL as well as in skin hydration after longer-lasting experimental time indicating a drying out of skin. However, even 1 week
after finishing the treatment, TEWL values decreased almost to the
control level implying a regeneration of the skin barrier. To sum
up, the multiple emulsion as well as liposomes was identified to be
well-tolerated vehicles for skin which might qualify them for the
use in cosmetic formulations.
Acknowledgements
This work was financed by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF):
P24846-B20 granted to Prof. Dr. Claudia Valenta.

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2014 Society of Cosmetic Scientists and the Soci
et
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International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 37, 181186