I first came across multi-lamellar creams in my search of a more effective way to deliver actives. Having a multitude of actives (in my case, it was to solve various skin aging problems) in a base formulation which could not deliver these actives efficiently (for example in a traditional O/W (oil-in-water) emulsion system) seemed a waste in my mind. As a young child I’d suffered from a mild bout of eczema (my 2 sisters continue to suffer from eczema) and a cream that could not only deliver actives, but be proven clinically to reduce skin sensitization is my holy grail.
What are multi-lamellar creams / emulsions? They are essentially creams that mimic the structure of the outer layer of your skin i.e. the stratum corneum, the outermost layer of our skin which protects us from external irritants and water loss. A breakdown in the stratum corneum has been implicated as the culprit for skin sensitizing & aging.
A few companies already have multi-lamellar cream bases ready to be used as-is, or enhanced with actives. These cream bases generally have a combination of ceramides, cholesterol or phytosterol (eg : shea butter) & free fatty acids (linoleic, palmitic, stearic acid) that resembles the structure of the lipid barrier of the skin (i.e. the stratum corneum).
The first one that comes to mind is The Personal Formulator’s multi-lamellar cream. Atopalm is another, which seems to be readily available in the US, not so much here in the UK. Dermaviduals based in Germany calls theirs the DMS base cream (derma membrane structure).
A behind-the-scenes look into a cosmetics company 
Leave a comment