Ceramide, a hot oral cosmetic ingredient in the Japanese market

Since hyaluronic acid has officially become a new food material, a large number of new applications of hyaluronic acid, which are mainly "moisturizing and hydrating", have emerged one after another, and they have surpassed collagen to become the hottest raw material in the domestic oral beauty industry. However, in Japan, a major country of oral beauty food, although the most popular oral beauty ingredient in the first half of 2021 also has hydrating and moisturizing functions, it is not the domestic hot hyaluronic acid, but ceramide.

What is ceramide?
 Ceramide（CAS No.: 100403-19-8, ceramide powder）, also known as Sphingolipid, is a type of sphingosine lipid composed of sphingosine long-chain bases and fatty acids. The molecule is composed of a sphingosine molecule and a fatty acid molecule. , Belongs to a large family of lipids.

     The structure of human skin is divided into epidermis, dermis and subcutaneous tissue. The epidermal layer is the skin condition we see daily, from the inside to the outside, it is the stratum corneum, the transparent layer, the granular layer, the spinous layer and the basal layer. The function of the stratum corneum is to protect against external stimuli, while the granular layer perfects the skin environment. The spinous layer helps prevent foreign bodies from invading, and the basal layer can generate new cells. Ceramide is the lipid that exists in the outermost periphery of our skin and in the cells of the stratum corneum. To use a simple analogy, when building a house and building a wall, cement is used to layer the bricks one after another. Ceramide acts as a layer in the stratum corneum. It acts like cement, consolidating the structure of the entire surface layer, and accounts for about 40% to 55% of the lipid content. It not only locks moisture, preserves grease, but also maintains the integrity of lipids. The main effects of ceramide on the skin are:

 1. Lock skin moisture
 Ceramide is the most important and highest proportion of the lipids in the stratum corneum. It can tightly maintain the lipid structure and maintain integrity. Since it is derived from the skin, ceramide can easily penetrate into the skin and combine with the moisture in the stratum corneum to form a network structure that can firmly lock the skin's moisture.
 2. Fight against skin aging
 During the aging process of the skin, the lipid synthesis ability decreases and the content of ceramide in the stratum corneum decreases, resulting in rough skin, wrinkles and loss of luster. Ceramide can improve these conditions, increase the thickness of the skin stratum corneum, and improve the water-holding capacity of the skin , Reduce wrinkles, increase skin elasticity, and delay skin aging.
 3. Form a natural barrier
 Ceramide can help to form an epidermal barrier, not only to maintain water retention, but also to resist external damage, such as ultraviolet rays and chemicals in the sun, and reduce the formation of stains.
 4. Reduce skin scaling
 Ceramide can enhance the adhesion between keratinocytes and stick them together, thereby reducing dryness and desquamation. With age, external influences, etc., the body's ceramide will gradually be lost, and the gaps between cells will become larger. External irritants and foreign bodies can easily invade the skin and cause inflammation and allergies, which can lead to many skin problems, such as Dermatitis (including acute

Plain face), psoriasis, eczema, red blood streaks, sensitive skin, dry skin, rough skin, etc. The ceramide content of these problem skins is significantly lower than normal skin, so additional supplements are needed.

The effect of topical ceramide has been confirmed by a large number of authoritative studies, so does oral ceramide also have a certain effect? Japanese scientists conducted a randomized double-blind controlled experiment in which 36 women with dry skin were given food containing 2mg of ceramide. They found that after 8 weeks of taking, the transepidermal water loss rate of the ceramide group was similar to that of the control group. The difference became significant after 12 weeks. It can be seen that taking ceramide components can play a certain role in epidermal repair, and other indicators such as skin moisture content and elasticity are also improved compared to the control group, and will not have other effects on the human body.