Science
01 — The starting point
Structure
The outer layer measures thinner
Using in-vivo confocal microscopy, researchers compared twenty healthy infants aged three to twenty-four months with their own biological mothers. Measured at the thigh, the infants' stratum corneum was around 30% thinner and the epidermis beneath it around 20% thinner, with smaller cells throughout.
Where it's contested: an earlier study measuring abdominal skin at autopsy found no significant difference in stratum corneum thickness between infants, children and adults.5 Thickness varies by body site and by measurement method. We mention this because a brand that only quotes the findings that suit it isn't being transparent, it's being selective.
Water
It handles water differently
Infant stratum corneum absorbs, holds and moves water in ways measurably different from adult skin — and those properties keep developing across the whole first year of life.2 A baby's skin takes water in faster and lets it go faster. That is the practical reason a wash matters more at this age than it will later.
Time
It keeps maturing for years
A study across four age groups from babies to adults found that barrier function keeps maturing well past infancy: water loss, lipid compactness, stratum corneum thickness and cell size only reach adult levels at around six years of age.3
02 — How we work
How an ingredient gets into a Gentle Touch bottle
We make things that work better and last longer. Our pFour steps, in this order. Step three is the one most brands skip, and step four is the one that makes the other three checkable.roducts solve real problems with clean design and honest materials.
Time
It keeps maturing for years
A study across four age groups from babies to adults found that barrier function keeps maturing well past infancy: water loss, lipid compactness, stratum corneum thickness and cell size only reach adult levels at around six years of age.3
03 — The actives
What's actually doing the work
Seventeen named ingredients across the range, each with the same card: what it is, where it comes from, which products it's in, and what we can and can't say about it.
