'Baby goo' could be moisturiser

Babies are covered in vernix when they are born

The creamy substance which covers newborn babies could be copied to create a highly effective moisturiser, scientists claim.

Researchers from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital say vernix protects a baby's skin while it is in the womb.

In New Scientist magazine, they say a synthetic version could be used to help premature babies whose skin has not fully developed.

But they say it could also be used as a moisturising cream by adults.

If you take some and rub it in your skin, the feel of it is very much like skin Marty Visscher, Skin Sciences Institute

Vernix could also be used as a nappy-rash cream or lotion for people with eczema or psoriasis.

The scientists say it is vernix which keeps a baby's skin perfectly hydrated and acid-balanced, and add it may also protect it against environmental stress and infection.

The paste has a unique composition that is 80% water, 10% fat and 10% protein.

It also contains high levels of antioxidant vitamin E, and proteins that stick to bacteria, viruses and fungi.

Artificial version

But its key secret is the retention of large amounts of water inside specially adapted skin cells called foetal corneocytes.

The researchers say the cells are able to soak up moisture when humidity is high and release moisture when humidity is low.

The team, based at the Skin Sciences Institute at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Centre in Ohio, are now trying to create a similar molecular structure artificially.

The US team is led by Marty Visscher, executive director of the Skin Sciences Institute, who has been working on vernix for more than 10 years.

She said vernix had a unique feel. "If you take some and rub it in your skin, the feel of it is very much like skin.

"It doesn't have the sticky, greasy feel of moisturisers."