Penetration and Local Effect of Vitamin A on the Skin of the Guinea Pig.,

Abstract

Vit. A dissolved in alcohol or chloroform penetrated the intact skin quickly by way of the sebaceous glands. Dissolved in linoleic or oleic acid, or in a viscous petrolatum paste, it penetrated more slowly. Vit. A dissolved in oleic or linoleic acid or in alcohol caused an hypertrophy of the epidermis, but a similar hypertrophy was brought about by the fatty acids alone. Whereas the fatty acids, with or without vit. A, seem to retard keratinization slightly, the vitamin dissolved in alcohol did not. Hair growth was unimpaired even when the skin had received massive doses of vit. A dissolved in alcohol.