The key difference between emollient and occlusive is that emollient can moisturize the skin, whereas occlusive can protect the skin from water loss.
There are three major types of active ingredients found in skincare products. They are emollients, occlusives, and humectants. Emollients are useful in protecting, moisturizing, and lubricating the skin, while occlusive can coat the surface of the skin to keep the moisture from escaping. Thus, emollients are different from occlusives according to their function. Humectants, on the other hand, are able to absorb water from the air and moisturize the skin when there is humidity above 70%. However, the common function of humectant is to draw water from the dermis into the epidermis, which makes the skin dryer than before.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is an Emollient
3. What is an Occlusive
4. Emollient vs Occlusive in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Emollient vs Occlusive
What is an Emollient?
An emollient or a moisturizer is a cosmetic product that is useful in protecting, moisturizing, and lubricating the skin. Usually, the sebum that is produced by the skin performs these functions. However, we can use an emollient to enhance the effects.
In the body, water constantly evaporates from the deep layers of the skin. This occurs via the transepidermal water loss method (TEWL). Our skin regulates the water content of the skin naturally and maintains a dry surface. This surface is easily shed as a barrier for pathogens, dirt, or damage. It also protects itself from drying out and becoming brittle and rigid. The retaining of moisture depends on the lipid bilayer between the corneocytes. Emollients can modify the rate of water loss from the skin using the ingredients that are active to moisturize the skin.
There are various different types of emollients. Petrolatum is a well-known, highly effective moisturizer. However, it is somewhat unpopular due to its oily nature. Some other emollient names include cetyl alcohol, cetearyl alcohol, cocoa butter, isopropyl myristate, silicone oils, stearic acid, castor oil, liquid paraffin, etc.
What is an Occlusive?
Occlusive is a type of moisturizer that can coat the surface of the skin to keep moisture from escaping. If the formulation of the moisturizer is more occlusive, we can say it has a great effect. Moreover, ointments are more occlusive compared to aqueous creams. However, aqueous creams are more occlusive than lotions.
Typically, water is lost from the skin at a rate of about 4 – 8 g/(m2h). When we apply a layer of petrolatum to the normal skin, it can reduce the loss of water by about 50 – 75% for several hours. However, the skin oils that are naturally formed from the human body can moisturize the skin the same way using the same mechanism.
Usually, occlusive ingredients are effective when we apply them over damp skin, and it is effective only while staying on the skin. This means that once the occlusive is removed, the water loss from the skin return to the normal level. These occlusive ingredients can feel heavy and greasy on the skin.
What is the Difference Between Emollient and Occlusive?
Occlusive and emollients are active ingredients that can be found in skincare products. The key difference between emollient and occlusive is that emollient can moisturize the skin, whereas occlusive can protect the skin from water loss. Moreover, emollients work best for oily skins whereas occlusives work best for dry skins.
The below infographic presents the differences between emollient and occlusive in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.
Summary – Emollient vs Occlusive
Emollients and occlusive are important in the cosmetic industry because they are found in skincare products as active ingredients. The key difference between emollient and occlusive is that emollient can moisturize the skin, whereas occlusive can protect the skin from water loss.
Reference:
1. “Occlusives in Skincare: The What, When and How?” Sublime Life, 13 Jan. 2022.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Person Applying Hand Cream” Photo by Shiny Diamond (CC0) via Pexels