Damaged Barrier, Elevated TEWL
Placeholder: broken lipid mortar lets water escape fast.
- 38 g/m²/h: Baseline TEWL (Severely elevated, placeholder)
- ~24%: Hydration (Dry stratum corneum, placeholder)
- ~16%: Lipid integrity (Mortar largely missing, placeholder)
- Low: Ceramide share (Depleted lipid class, placeholder)
Brick-and-mortar breakdown
Corneocyte bricks intact, mortar between them fractured.
Why TEWL climbs
Gaps in lipid matrix let water vapor pass unchecked.
Drawing Water Into The Stratum Corneum
Placeholder: glycerin and HA pull moisture inward, plumping cells.
- Classic: Glycerin (Small humectant molecule, placeholder)
- Large: Hyaluronic acid (Holds many water molecules, placeholder)
- +: Hydration shift (Rises with humectant share, placeholder)
- Still high: TEWL alone (No sealing without occlusive, placeholder)
Osmotic pull
Humectants attract water from air and lower dermis.
The catch
Humidity-dependent — needs an occlusive partner to hold gains.
Filling Gaps Between Corneocytes
Placeholder: fatty acids and cholesterol smooth rough surface texture.
- Gap-filler: Fatty acids (Slot between cell edges, placeholder)
- Gap-filler: Cholesterol (Native lipid class, placeholder)
- Smoother: Texture (Reduced roughness, scaling, placeholder)
- Modest gain: Lipid integrity (Partial repair only, placeholder)
Surface smoothing
Emollients slip into micro-gaps, softening flaky texture.
Limits
Fills gaps but does not fully rebuild the barrier alone.
Sealing The Surface, Rebuilding The Mortar
Placeholder: film blocks evaporation, ceramides replace missing lipids.
- ~99%: Petrolatum (Occlusion efficiency, placeholder)
- Breathable: Dimethicone (Lighter occlusive film, placeholder)
- Signature: Ceramides (Direct mortar replacement, placeholder)
- Drops sharply: TEWL (Combined sealing effect, placeholder)
Occlusive film
A surface layer physically blocks water vapor escape.
Ceramide rebuild
Ceramides insert directly into the intercellular lipid matrix.
A Balanced Formulation Wins
Placeholder: combined ratio beats any single ingredient class.
- Lowest: Best TEWL result (With balanced formula, placeholder)
- ~50–60%: Ideal humectant share (Rough target zone, placeholder)
- ~30%+: Ideal ceramide share (Sufficient mortar rebuild, placeholder)
- Worse: Single-class result (Always underperforms mix, placeholder)
Why balance matters
Each ingredient class solves a different piece of the problem.
Tuning the mix
Adjust sliders to explore trade-offs in real time.