Is there a moisturiser available that can moisturise the deep layers of the skin, leaving your skin refreshed and rejuvenated? Well, a number of reputed cosmeceutical companies claim that their products achieve this. For eg. see this advert from Dove: (read the text carefully to see if you can spot the deception).

At the outset let me first make it clear that I have nothing against Dove and the above is just an example. All cosmeceutical companies engage in similar tactics which I shall discuss. How many of you actually spotted the sly deceiving small print in the advert that contradicts their own claim about the moisturiser working ‘deep down at the root’!!!. First of all the skin is a flat layer on top of the fat, it does not have ‘roots’! But notice the *  referring to the ‘stratum corneum’. Stratum corneum is the top most dead layer of the skin which is hardly 15-20 cells thick (about 10 and 40 ?m). The * is the get out of jail card being used by the company. Notice that they say ‘every skin layer*’ but cleverly have the ‘*’ after ‘layer’, i.e. they are only referring to the top most dead layer of the skin. What more….the subsequent para referring to the ‘top’, ‘middle’ and ‘deep down’ layers also refers to the top most dead layer of the skin, the stratum corneum!  However if you do not notice the *, you might be fooled into thinking that the moisturiser actually works on the deep layers of the skin.

So essentially their claims are completely rubbish as the moisturiser does not penetrate into the skin itself. In fact there is no moisturiser that penetrates deep into the skin. All moisturisers work by hydrating the skin on the outside, i.e. the stratum corneum.  Please do not be fooled by false claims….

Also Read: My top tips on choosing a daily moisturiser