Lanolin has been used by man as a skin emollient for thousands of years.1 Lanolin (from the Latin lana for wool and oleum for oil) is another name for wool wax, which is secreted by the sebaceous glands of the sheep (Ovis aries) to soften the fleece and protect it against the elements. Lanolin was used by the ancient Greeks (circa 700 b.c.), and a method of recovering lanolin from wool washings was described by the Greek physician Dioscorides (60 a.d.) in his De materia medica.2