Details on Transdermal Diffusion

Transdermal diffusion with LA VAGUE baths

Definition: Transdermal Diffusion  

Instructions for use, explanations and advertising slogans from cosmetics and pharmacology in relation to skin products such as "penetrates deep into the skin" or "penetrates into different layers of the skin" are well known. The description "transdermal diffusion" means nothing else, just a little more professional paraphrase, whereby "transdermal" means "through the skin" or "absorbed into the body via the skin" and "diffusion" means the independent mixing, the passive ongoing transport without having to do anything, mixing / equalization in cells, bodies ... due to different concentrations / concentration equalization.

Significance and applications of transdermal diffusion  

The great significance and importance of transdermal diffusion has been recognized in many fields, including cosmetics, and there are numerous investigations, studies and papers on this in pharmacology and medicine, but mainly in relation to special plasters provided with active ingredients, about which Substances are smuggled into the body, e.g. nicotine patches, hormone patches etc. and unfortunately very little in relation to baths. However, there are crucial details and clues from these papers and studies that are sufficient to draw conclusions.

In cosmetics, it is important to distinguish whether something should "only" make you beautiful by "surface treatment" with lipstick, make-up, etc., or whether it should also have an effect / change on and in the skin. If a beautification is to take place by something also or primarily having an effect / changing it for the better, then transdermal diffusion cannot be avoided in cosmetics either. The physical method of "microneedling" is often used by beauticians to transport the active ingredients deeper into the skin with the help of tiny needles.

It is very controversial, especially in English-speaking countries, whether magnesium enters the body transdermally via baths in magnesium chloride, which is also somewhat confusingly referred to as magnesium oil, and if so, in what quantities.

What factors favor transdermal diffusion?  

Even if it's not a pretty picture, it can be compared to a knife. If it's blunt and round at the tip, it won't penetrate the skin. If, on the other hand, it is sharp and pointed at the tip, it penetrates the skin, is in

able to overcome or break through the outer protective barrier of the skin, the horny layer or the stratum corneum.

In a figurative sense, this also applies to chemical substances and physical conditions. If the substances are pH-neutral, i.e. at 7, they will penetrate less than with acidic and basic pH values.

In order to promote transdermal diffusion, various promoters or enhancers are often used, which are often very acidic, eg alcohols, urea (urea), salicylic acid, etc. These substances make the skin even more acidic than it already is. Therefore, in our opinion, these substances should be avoided in skin products.

A small digression at this point:

There are different opinions on this. Firstly, the opinion that adult skin is often very acidic and that this is a good, normal condition that needs to be maintained in order to support the skin's protective barrier. It has been found, for example, that urea supports the protective function, makes the skin acidic, and that only very little gets through, ie transdermal diffusion is reduced to a minimum.

The opposite view is that small babies still have a much higher pH value in the skin and that the skin is above all a huge detoxification organ in which excess acids are transported to the outside, but a too acidic skin environment this detoxification prevents, the skin tightens, so to speak, because it is already too acidic and cannot tolerate any more acid. Therefore, the skin should be treated with alkalines, so that the detoxification of the skin and the body is promoted and the acids arriving there are neutralized and the possibility is created to transport more and more acids out there and to neutralize them. If the skin is really stressed / disturbed and the protective barrier is actually weakened as a result, it shows this, for example, with a rash, irritation, sensitivity, acne, neurodermatitis / atopic eczema, etc. Everyone can then quickly test for themselves what repairs the skin better and makes you look more beautiful, acidic or alkaline skin products.

From personal experience and field reports, we can answer that for ourselves: Definitely alkaline skin products... Unfortunately, I love acid-producing foods, such as sweets, cola, etc., my diet is anything but ideal, and unfortunately I don't invest a lot of time and energy in the topic , apart from good herbal teas, but I am quite consistent and diligent with regard to alkaline baths and body care and thus compensate for a lot, as I think and hope at least. I am now almost 60 years old and feel good.

Back to the subject of transdermal diffusion and factors that favor it. pH we just had. In our opinion and experience, alkaline baths are significantly healthier enhancers / promoters of transdermal diffusion than acidic enhancers such as alcohols, urea, salicylic acid or solvents such as DMSO. LA VAGUE baths are very alkaline, but still in a well-tolerated range.

2. water

Well hydrated/moist skin is more permeable than dry skin. There are artificial methods to increase the skin's moisture content, such as the use of the very popular hyaluronic acid, which helps to bind water in the skin. However, the simplest method is quite plain and simple: baths. After a certain time in the water, the skin becomes very well moistened and much more receptive to transdermal diffusion, which then proceeds up to five times faster than when the skin is in a dry state. Therefore alkaline baths in general and LA VAGUE baths in particular are an ideal method for promoting transdermal diffusion.

3. temperature

A higher temperature also helps. This is also much easier to organize in bathrooms, with warm to slightly hot bath water. In summer, however, cold LA VAGUE baths are also a real treat. Since LA VAGUE baths contain many substances that promote transdermal diffusion, they also work very well in cool/cold water.

4. vegetable oils

The specialist literature states: Lipid content and composition improve transdermal diffusion. Particularly pure and high-quality vegetable oils are particularly good and effective. Alkaline bath salts very rarely contain even one high-quality vegetable oil. In LA VAGUE Sels de Bain there is not only 1 good vegetable oil, but a total of 9 very high quality and pure organic vegetable oils.

5. concentration of active ingredients

The more concentrated the active ingredients are, the greater the concentration gradient towards the skin, and the better the transdermal diffusion works. The ingredients in LA VAGUE Sels de Bain are present in high concentrations so that they can work optimally. The concentrations are not only high, but also consistent with each other, complementing each other optimally in order to achieve the best possible results.

However, this does not always mean that higher amounts of LA VAGUE Sels de Bain per bath and thus higher concentrations of the ingredients are always better and more effective. There are skin types with particular sensitivity and situations, e.g. skin irritations, skin problems, be it acne, atopic eczema (neurodermatitis), etc., where it may be better to start carefully with lower concentrations in order to find out how the skin reacts before the dose/concentration can then be gradually increased.

6. Skin condition, skin health, skin region

With baths, the overall transdermal diffusion is much greater than with purely local application with a patch or with very much more localized applications with skin products. In baths, a much larger area of ​​the skin is exposed to the active ingredients and the many areas of the skin are treated more extensively and included where the skin is more permeable. On the one hand, there are the skin regions where a lot of hair grows, but also there where the skin is thinner, e.g. on the face, neck, back of the knees, on the arms, but also there where there are many sweat glands, such as on the hands and feet feet. This in no way speaks against local applications with skin products, which can make sense for local skin improvements. However, it is important to note that baths play a special role overall when it comes to improving the skin and body. This applies even more to LA VAGUE bathrooms, because a lot has been optimized here that you won't find anywhere else.

7. molecular sizes

Smaller molecules or ions penetrate the skin more easily than larger ones. So-called “ionic solutions” are particularly well suited. This means salts dissolved in water. This comes very close to the situation with LA VAGUE bathrooms. The many minerals and trace elements in LA VAGUE Sels de Bain form ions in the water and are therefore in a form that is very well suited to penetrating deep into the skin and the organism.

8. frequency and time

The more frequently LA VAGUE baths are used and the longer the individual baths last, the clearer the transdermal diffusion will be over time and the greater the effects of the many active ingredients on the skin and body will be. The time factor can also be intensified by the fact that after a LA VAGUE bath the substances are not dried off but left on the skin, e.g. by simply allowing them to dry on the skin at warm temperatures in the bath and/or in summer etc. or even through blow-dry on the skin.

In summary, it can be stated that the most important factors of transdermal diffusion are particularly effective in LA VAGUE baths. In the following, it will be explained why LA VAGUE baths do not “only” activate transdermal diffusion, but also why this results in a special benefit.