CERAMIDE NP
INCI Name: Ceramide NP
CAS No.: 100403-19-8
Appearance: White to off-white powder
Solubility: Oil soluble/dispersible in oils; insoluble in water
Product Type: Cosmetic active ingredient
Description
Ceramide NP is a skin-identical lipid used in advanced cosmetic and personal-care formulations to help support and restore the skin's natural protective barrier. Ceramides are naturally present in the outermost layer of the skin and play an important role in maintaining moisture, barrier integrity, and healthy-looking skin.
Ceramide NP is particularly useful in formulations designed for dry, dehydrated, mature, sensitive, or barrier-compromised skin. By supplementing the skin's lipid barrier, it can help reduce moisture loss and improve the skin's smoothness, softness, and overall appearance. It is commonly incorporated into facial creams, moisturizers, anti-aging products, barrier-repair treatments, serums, body-care products, and conditioning hair-care formulations.
Cosmetic Uses & Benefits
Skin Barrier Support: Helps reinforce the skin's natural lipid barrier.
Moisture Retention: Helps reduce trans epidermal water loss (TEWL), supporting longer-lasting hydration.
Dry Skin Care: Particularly suitable for dry, rough, flaky, and dehydrated skin formulations.
Anti-Aging Formulations: Helps improve the appearance of dryness-related fine lines and promotes smoother, more supple-looking skin.
Sensitive Skin Products: Useful in gentle formulations designed to support a weakened or compromised moisture barrier.
Skin Conditioning: Improves softness, smoothness, and overall skin feel.
After-Care Products: Suitable for formulations intended to restore moisture after exposure to environmental stressors or drying cosmetic treatments.
Hair Care: Can be incorporated into conditioners, masks, and repair products to improve conditioning and help support the hair's lipid structure.
Typical Applications
Ceramide NP may be used in face creams, night creams, eye creams, anti-aging serums, barrier creams, facial lotions, body lotions, hand creams, moisturizing balms, masks, conditioners, hair masks, and intensive repair treatments.
Formulation Note
Because Ceramide NP has very limited water solubility, it should not simply be added directly to the water phase. For oil-based or emulsion formulations, it is generally incorporated into an appropriate lipid/oil phase or pre-dispersed/solubilized using a compatible system. The exact processing method and usage level should follow the supplier's technical specifications because commercial Ceramide NP grades can differ significantly in concentration and carrier system.
