In vivo comparative documentation of skin hydration by confocal Raman microscopy, SkinSensor, Skicon, and NovaMeter

The stratum corneum provides a vital physical barrier that protects against external insults and excessive internal water loss. Water activity is thought as a key factor to maintain proper skin barrier integrity via regulating enzyme activities and lipid phase behavior. Consequently, maintenance of an optimal hydration level in SC becomes an important clinical and cosmetic concern. The objective methods to assess SC hydration are based on either electrical or optical measurements. Electrical techniques used in the current study include high frequency conductance (Skicon), impedance (Nova DPM) and DC I-V curve (Skinsensor). Confocal Raman Microscopy was utilized to document water profile versus depth, and this technique is based on inelastic scattering of monochromatic light from different chemical species of skin. Water patches were applied on the 14 subjects' forearm for 20 minutes and 1.5 hrs. Skin hydration levels for individuals were documented by utilizing the mentioned above instruments in vivo. Results show that patterns of water profiles upon the hydration are significantly different among the individuals and these differences may be related to skin barrier function integrity. The intrinsic water content and water absorption upon the hydration were summed corresponding to different depths (3 μm and 15 μm) from the data obtained by confocal Raman microscopy. These results were correlated to the readings from electrical approaches. Superficial (3 μm) but not deeper layer (15 μm) water contents correlated well with the readings from SkinSensor. Neither depth measurements correlate well with the Skicon. There is strong correlation between the data acquired with Skicon and SkinSensor.