Eczema patients need skin care, especially the use of moisturizing emollients is very important to repair dry skin, reduce itching and prevent eczema flare-ups. Professional dermatologists often educate patients with dermatitis and eczema about basic skin care and recommend the use of medical moisturizers, but sometimes we are “surprised” by the variety of moisturizers used by patients, such as a variety of natural and ecological “oils”. So, this time we are going to talk about the “oils” that are used to moisturize the skin. Lipids are important moisturizing components of the skin The texture and appearance of the skin is closely related to the water content of the epidermis, those who make our skin softer, smoother and more moisturized water mainly from the dermis of the diffusion of water and sweat glands secretion of sweat, and the outermost layer of the skin of the stratum corneum is to effectively prevent the loss of water in the skin of the important barrier. The various lipid components in the stratum corneum and the sebaceous membrane on the surface of the skin are the most important material bases for realizing this water retention effect. Cholesterol, ceramides and free fatty acids are the main lipids in the epidermis. As the epidermis dies and is shed, the lipids in the epidermis, together with the sebum produced by the sebaceous glands, form a sebaceous film in the top layer of the skin, the main components of which are squalene, cholesterol, cholesteryl esters, wax esters and triglycerides. The main components are squalene, cholesterol, wax esters and triglycerides. The function of these lipids is to lubricate the skin and to minimize water loss from the skin. Animal fats and oils —- Ancient Skin Care Products From ancient times to the present day, all kinds of fats and oils have always been good for skin care. The lipids used by ancient people for skin care mainly came from animals. Since animal fats and oils contain more saturated fatty acids and are solid at room temperature, they can be directly applied to the skin to lubricate the skin. Some of the use of animal fats and oils skin care methods are even used today, for example — 1, horse oil (horse oil) The first time I know “horse oil”, or from eczema patients heard, and later found that many eczema patients have actually tried horse oil to moisturizing. Baidu a bit (because at home and abroad in the medical literature retrieval system and dermatology books can not find horse oil skin care academic articles, had to Baidu), it is said that the application of horse oil in our country has a long history, as early as in the 5th century AD, the “Famous Medical Doctors” documented the medicinal role of horse oil, used for hair care, cosmetic treatment and treatment of skin trauma, etc.; Xinjiang Kazakh people’s characteristics of medicine – Kazakhstan medicine also used horse oil has been used in the past, but also the use of horse oil, the use of horse oil is also a good example. -Kazakhstan medical use of horse oil also has a history of several hundred years; Chinese medical text “Compendium of Materia Medica” also recorded the horse fat can be treated face black and cracked hands and feet rough. Horse oil has been used medicinally in Japanese folk medicine for decades, mainly for the treatment of skin inflammation of the hands and feet and cuts and fire wounds. Modern horse oil is purified from horse fat or horsehair mixtures by cold extraction after hot steaming, dissolving, filtering, and removing impurities. Why is horse oil a good moisturizer? Research has found that horse oil in the unsaturated fatty acid content of more than 60%, especially polyunsaturated fatty acids relative content of more than 24%, polyunsaturated fatty acids for the skin barrier has a good repair effect, thus playing a moisturizing effect. Horse oil is also rich in vitamin E, has a certain antioxidant effect. But be careful, we buy most of the skin care products containing horse oil are not pure horse oil, the content of which is probably between 1% -5%. For example, a well-known brand of horse oil cream containing horse oil about 5%, which also contains other moisturizing ingredients such as glycerin, shea butter, jojoba oil, soybean oil, vitamin E, palmitoyl tetrapeptide, lecithin, caprylic ester of glycerin, sodium hyaluronate and ceramides 3, etc., so the moisturizing effect of the cream of horse oil is to add a variety of moisturizing ingredients together to play a role. As natural lipids such as horse oil are easily oxidized or denatured, preservatives and antioxidants are also added to horse oil creams, and some of the ingredients may also cause irritation or allergy. Therefore, eczema patients using horse oil cream to moisturize, must choose the brand without added fragrances, if skin irritation or allergy symptoms should be promptly discontinued. Another very famous – 2, Lanolin (Lanolin) Lanolin is not derived from sheep’s fat, but from the wool refined oil, the scientific name is lanolin. Lanolin is a natural oil secreted by the sebaceous glands of sheep, the main component is long-chain wax esters, hydrolyzed to produce lanolin alcohol and lanolinic acid, lanolin alcohol is an important source of cholesterol. Lanolin and its hydrolysis products are similar to the composition of sebum produced by human skin (human sebum contains squalene, cholesterol, cholesteryl esters, wax esters and triglycerides), and therefore have good moisturizing and emollient effects. Lanolin is added to many moisturizing skin care products. Australia and New Zealand produce the best quality lanolin, and there are a number of various lanolin moisturizing skincare brands. Some eczema sufferers use lanolin to moisturize their skin, but remember to always choose products without added fragrances. Skin care products often come into contact with the “oil” 1, mineral oil (mineral oil) mineral oil is purified from petroleum refined liquid hydrocarbon mixtures, also known as white mineral oil or white oil, commonly used industrial-grade white oil, cosmetic-grade white oil, medical-grade white oil, food-grade white oil and so on. Vaseline and paraffin also belong to mineral oil. Mineral oil used in cosmetics and skin care products grade is highly refined and purified, it is stable and easy to mix with other ingredients; good sealing, with strong sealing, for example, Vaseline can prevent the skin 99% of the water loss; almost no irritation, not easy to allergy. Therefore, in a variety of moisturizing products, baby skin care products (such as baby oil, baby oil) and suitable for sensitive, especially dry skin care products are added with mineral oil. 2, glycerol (Glycerol) glycerol chemical name is propanetriol. Glycerol and fatty acids are produced by metabolizing triglycerides in the fats we consume, so glycerol can be produced and processed from natural oils and fats. Glycerin is very absorbent and is often added to cosmetics as a hygroscopic agent. Glycerin’s water absorption is biphasic, absorbing water from both the air and the skin. When the humidity in the environment is lower than 50%, glycerin absorbs water from the skin instead, aggravating skin dryness. Therefore, it is not suitable to use glycerin for skin care when you are in an air-conditioned room, a heated room or a dry climate for a long period of time. Pure glycerin (100% concentration) can not be used for direct skin care, usually available skin care glycerin are glycerin aqueous solution, in which the concentration of glycerin is about 10-20%. In addition, glycerin is only through the absorption of water to achieve moisturizing, and not be able to “lock” the water, so with other moisturizing agents with the role of sealing packets used together. 3, silicone oil (silicone oil) for skin care products in the silicone oil should be called polydimethylsiloxane, also called dimethylsiloxane. Many hospitals have added dimethicone oil to homemade silicone cream. In fact, dimethicone does not have a moisturizing effect, it is stable and hydrophobic, usually added to shampoo and hair care products as a softener. Dimethicone oil is less irritating to the skin, good breathability, feel smooth after use, usually and polydimethylsiloxane can be mixed with lanolin, stearyl alcohol, cetearyl alcohol and glyceryl monostearate and other surfactants used as an emulsion-type matrix, but also used in the matrix of topical drugs to promote drug penetration. Some hospitals homemade silicone cream contain dimethylsilicone oil, so the name silicone cream, but in fact, silicone cream to play a moisturizing effect is due to the addition of glycerin (moisture absorber) and mineral oil (sealing agent) the two moisturizing ingredients. 4, a variety of plants from the “oil” If you carefully check the manual of various brands of medical moisturizing products, you can find a variety of added from plant oils, such as macadamia seed oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, sunflower seed oil, shea butter, olive oil, evening primrose oil, jojoba oil, tea tree seed oil and so on. In recent years there has also been a lot of publicity advocating the use of skin care products with added plant-based oils from natural plant sources.