Liposomes

Liposomes are a popular group of skin care ingredient, especially used as anti aging, although they are also utilized in other medical functions, primarily as drug carriers. They are artificially created vesicles made of lipid bilaye+rs, membranes made of two lipid layers which in turn are constituted of phospholipids that have a hydrophilic (water prone) head as exterior and hydrophilic (water resistant) tails as interior, enabling the membrane to contain water-soluble molecules. As illustration, this is how bacteria are kept hydrated, preventing the osmosis of water from the inside to the outside.

Liposomes, as mentioned, are utilized as drug carriers; they are filled with drugs and sent to the site in the body where the drug needs to be administered, as in cancer cells and other diseases. The same principle works in skin care. As drug carriers, they do not carry any property that is beneficial to the skin, other than its lipid constitution provides extra moisture to the skin. Rather, it is because of its lipid-like properties of being able to penetrate into the cells of the body while containing active ingredients within it. Once liposomes merge with the cells, they release the ingredients into them which make the effect longer lasting, since the cell interior is water resistant and therefore washing is delayed.

Liposomes+ vitamins C, A and E

Any skin care product containing liposomes already has the makings of a breakthrough product, presumably. The only thing is that the product needs to have a combination of active relevant ingredients. In anti-aging, for example, what better ingredients are there to put in it than vitamins C, A and E?

Unfortunately this is where liposomes reach a cul-de-sac. It is alleged that since the interior of liposomes are water resistant, storing it with oil-soluble ingredients like vitamins E and A do not do much (apparently just because the cell interior is water resistant), and wazter-soluble ingredients such as vitamin C are only slightly absorbed. Another problem is that vitamin C has a property that destabilizes liposomes – and skin care products must contain high concentrations of it. Also, products with liposome tend to be expensive because of the high technological cost of producing them.

However, in spite of difficulties, liposomes are used in skin care. Thanks to nanotechnology engineering, scientists are now able to combine them with the potent vitamins A, C and E, to name a few. It is obviously better opting for products that only have this combination. Because of their natural moisture, liposomes are ideal in anti aging skin treatment, and because of its lipid properties it is also highly absorbent. In addition, products containing lipo somes tend to be free of chemicals such as surfactants and emulsifiers, making them ideal to combine with both water and non-water-soluble ingredients.