Moisture-retaining membrane: Kao develops new formula with fine fibre tech to reduce moisture-loss on skin

Kao Corporation first announced the development of its fine fibre technology in 2018.  The technology creates a barely-visible film on the skin’s surface, creating an ultra-thin membrane on looks and feels natural.

Since then, the company’s Skincare Research Laboratory and Analytical Science Laboratory have developed a novel formula based on fine fibre tech which claims to control water evaporation on the surface of skin.

Further research found that controlling the moisture permeability affects the expression of the proteins that were linked to healthy skin conditions.

A novel solution​

The stratum corneum plays an important role in maintaining homeostasis of the skin by preventing “external stimulatory substance invasion and control water evaporation”.​

However, the barrier function of the stratum corneum is known to decline because of the intrinsic and extrinsic factors of ageing.

According to Kao, current solutions to prevent this were inadequate. “We have been conducting research in an effort to find solutions that complement the function of the stratum corneum, as currently available formulas have shown insufficient performance in regard to uniformity and durability.”

It found that combining the fine fibre technology with a moisturising formula could potentially solve the problem. This was inspired by the “moist healing” method used in wound healing.

Kao said: “Use of this fine fibre membrane in combination with a liquid formula demonstrated a performance capability of quick and even distribution of that combined formulation throughout the application area, and then it remained firmly held by the entire membrane.”​

Controlling moisture loss

This method was observed to lower measured moisture permeability which led to reduced moisture evaporation from the skin surface.

Repeated experiments also found that the moisture permeability could be controlled by tweaking the composition of the formula.

These findings were affirmed by a 2-week experiment with 45 female volunteers in their 30s and 40s that suffered from dry skin.

The experiment showed that the combined formula could increase water content in the skin significantly from the third day of application.

“As for skin appearance, brightness and gloss were significantly improved within three days of starting applications in the combined use group, earlier as compared to the group with formula alone,”​ added Kao.

Kao concluded: “Based on these findings, we intend to develop products with an added dimension gained by applying this fine fibre technology. In addition, we will continue to pursue technological developments for application in therapeutic settings to contribute to the needs of society.”​