Studies conducted over the years have revealed that, although water plays an important role in keeping the skin moist and supple the ability of the top layers of the skin (stratum corneum) to resist moisture loss depends on the presence of certain long chain polyunsaturated lipids known as essential fatty acids (EFA).
These lipids classified as Omega-6 lipids cannot be synthesized by the body, although when topically applied, they can be metabolized in the skin and directly incorporated into the structural lipids of the epidermis (ceramides); the building blocks of the water barrier of the stratum corneum.
Evening Primrose Oil and Borage Oil (the latter also known as Starflower Oil) are rich sources of Omega-6 Lipids and in particular gamma-linolenic acid (GLA).
Insignificant levels of GLA are detected in mammalian skin, because the epidemis lacks the enzymes necessary to convert linoleic acid into gamma-linolenic acid. Therefore, there is a need to provide the body with products containing this material. Topical application of Borage Oil and Evening Primrose Oil significantly increase the level of GLA in the stratum corneum.
The most important topical benefits are:
- Help repair the natural moisture barrier of the skin by maintaining the multiple extracellular sheets of the bilayers in the stratum corneum.
- Enhance the moisture retention ability (MRA) of the skin from within (non-occlusive moisturization). therefore, keeping it moist and supple
- Induce the proper differentiation of the epidermal cells into normal and effective stratum corneum.
