ABSTRACT
Although the term moisturizer is in widespread use by both lay people and medical professionals, it is a neologism of the cosmetics industry and lacks a precise definition. It was conveniently coined by Madison Avenue to describe a treatment for dry skin, which remains one of the most frequent everyday skin problems. Unfortunately despite the fact that dry skin is a troublesome, disquieting problem for many millions of people, surprisingly little is known about its pathogenesis. We do know that dry skin is not a single entity, but rather a family of disorders that can originate in a variety of ways [1-4].
