ABSTRACT
Moisturizers are big business. Consumers spend millions of dollars each year in search of efficacious products. All one needs to do is scan the monthly “women’s magazines” to understand that moisturizers of all types-hand and body lotions, facial moisturizers, and body washes-are being advertised in record numbers. Approximately 80% of women in the United States use a hand and body lotion regularly. Products offer benefits ranging from dry skin relief to youthful, less wrinkled, and firmer skin. Formulations include such ingredients as α-and β-hydroxyacids (AHA and BHA), retinols, and seaweed extract. Vitamins are added as antioxidants and firming agents. It is common knowledge that herbs, long used for healing purposes, are finding new life in skin preparations [1]. Herbal extracts, considered by some as good for the inside, are now being used on the outside as well. Foods have also found their way into moisturizers-soya, whey protein, oats, sugar, cucumbers, and green tea are but a few of these ingredients. It is pos-
sible to purchase moisturizers that are fragranced or unfragranced in every color imaginable.
