Good evidence
Vernix Lipid Complex
INCI: Squalane, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Beta-Sitosterol, Oleic Acid, Glyceryl Behenate, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Ceramide NG, Ceramide NP, Lecithin, Tocopherol · also vernix complex, newborn skin lipid complex
A patent-pending lipid complex from our lab, modeled on the coating newborn skin arrives in: squalane, wax esters, plant sterols, two ceramides and a fatty acid, in the proportions vernix uses.
Why it is here
Baby's Bottom is built on it. Vernix is the reference design for a barrier that has to work from day one, and rebuilding its lipid logic as one complex means the cream starts from the right proportions instead of guessing at them. The barrier's own three lipids are restocked on top.
Vernix caseosa is mostly lipid by dry weight: wax esters, sterol esters, squalene, ceramides and free fatty acids in a mix that keeps water in and irritants out while skin finishes maturing. The complex mirrors that mix with cosmetic-grade materials: squalane for the squalene, candelilla wax for the wax esters, beta-sitosterol for the sterols, oleic acid for the fatty acids, ceramide NG and NP for the ceramides. In our lab's test on people, the complex reduced water loss through the skin and raised hydration from the first application, and the water-loss improvement kept growing over four weeks.
The receipts
A ceramide-containing formulation based on vernix caseosa accelerated barrier recovery in healthy volunteers over 16 days after tape-stripping, and the shifts in ceramide subclasses seen in untreated recovering skin were diminished by treatment.
Applying a vernix caseosa based formulation accelerates skin barrier repair by modulating lipid biosynthesis. Journal of Lipid Research, 2018. controlled in vivo, tape-stripped skin, n = healthy volunteers. PMID 29217624
Vernix and a petrolatum-based cream both produced greater barrier repair than no occlusion in the pig model, and in adults vernix yielded greater recovery than full occlusion and was comparable to the petrolatum and oil-in-water creams.
Epidermal barrier treatments based on vernix caseosa. Skin Pharmacology and Physiology, 2011. in vivo animal and human, n = minipig laser-ablation model plus tape-stripped adult volar skin. PMID 21822033
The glucoside form of beta-sitosterol raised total stratum corneum ceramide 1.2-fold and the acylceramide Cer[EOS] 2.1-fold in a reconstructed human epidermis model, by up-regulating ceramide synthase-3 and glucosylceramide synthase.
Beta-sitosterol 3-O-D-glucoside increases ceramide levels in the stratum corneum via the up-regulated expression of ceramide synthase-3 and glucosylceramide synthase in a reconstructed human epidermal keratinization model. PLoS One, 2021. reconstructed human epidermis and keratinocytes, in vitro. PMID 33684145
What the study actually did
- Study
- Boiten WA, Berkers T, Absalah S, et al. Applying a vernix caseosa based formulation accelerates skin barrier repair by modulating lipid biosynthesis. 2018.
- Journal
- Journal of Lipid Research 59:250-260
- Design
- Controlled in vivo study, barrier disruption by tape-stripping, four skin sites per subject
- Subjects
- Healthy volunteers
- Concentration
- A ceramide-containing vernix caseosa based formulation
- Duration
- 16 days of recovery, TEWL monitored, lipid analysis at day 16
- Outcome
- Faster barrier recovery by TEWL; the ceramide shifts seen in untreated recovering skin were diminished by treatment
From our lab
Built on a patent-pending lipid complex modeled on newborn skin.
Vernix is the coating a newborn arrives in, and it is the most overdesigned moisturizer in biology. Our lab rebuilt its lipid logic as one complex: squalane, wax esters, plant sterols, two ceramides and a fatty acid, in the proportions newborn skin uses. Baby's Bottom is built on it, then restocks the barrier's own three lipids in the ratio the papers use. In our test on people, redness came down too, by a statistically significant margin.
33%
Less water lost through the skin after four weeks. From the first application, 24%.*
39%
More hydration measured immediately after application, and it held through the study.*
89%
Of participants found it reduced itch and irritation, against a placebo.*
Vernix lipid complex · 1 to 5% of the cream
INCI: Squalane, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Beta-Sitosterol, Oleic Acid, Glyceryl Behenate, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Ceramide NG, Ceramide NP, Lecithin, Tocopherol
*Our lab's test of the complex on people. Patent pending.
In practice
- Typical use
- 1 to 5 percent of a barrier cream, as the lipid backbone the rest of the formula is built around.
- Pairs with
- Ceramides + Cholesterol + Fatty Acids, Squalane, Wax Esters
- Keep apart from
- Nothing. It is a lipid complex and behaves like one.
- Cautions
- None notable. Shea and candelilla are common cosmetic lipids; anyone with a known sensitivity to either should patch test.
Questions people ask
Is there anything from a baby in it?
No. The complex copies the lipid proportions of vernix with plant and lab-made materials. Nothing from any baby is in the jar.
Why plant sterols instead of cholesterol?
The complex uses beta-sitosterol, a plant sterol that does the sterol's structural job in the lipid mix. Baby's Bottom then restocks cholesterol itself alongside ceramides and fatty acids, because the published barrier work in older skin favors a cholesterol-led ratio.
What does patent-pending mean here?
That a patent application covering the complex has been filed and is under examination. It is a statement about the filing, not a claim about results. The results are our lab's test on people and the published vernix work above.