Lanolin, skin softener

Emollients are skin softeners. Petroleum jelly (mixture of alkanes, with 20-plus carbons, isolated from crude oil), lanolin (mixture of esters isolated from sheep wool fat), and coco butter (mixture of esters isolated from the cacao bean) are excellent skin softeners. 

Lanolin has been used by man as a skin emollient for thousands of years.1 Lanolin (from the Latin lana for wool and oleum for oil) is another name for wool wax, which is secreted by the sebaceous glands of the sheep (Ovis aries) to soften the fleece and protect it against the elements. Lanolin was used by the ancient Greeks (circa 700 b.c.), and a method of recovering lanolin from wool washings was described by the Greek physician Dioscorides (60 a.d.) in his De materia medica.2... 

EmoIIients/hydrating agents soothe and soften the skin. They are incorporated into ointments and skin creams that are used to treat conditions where the skin is dry or flaky (e.g. eczema). They are usually fats or oils, such as lanolin and liquid paraffin, and can be combined with other hydrating agents, e.g. urea. 

The second wax is lanolin, also called wool fat. Lanolin softens the skin and is used in many cosmetics and lotions. Lanolin is a complex mixture of esters of 33 high-molar-mass alcohols and 36 fatty acids. Liquid lanolin has mainly low-molar-mass, branched-chain alcohols and acids (which pack poorly in crystals), while waxy lanolin has higher-molar-mass straight-chain alcohols and acids (which pack better in crystals). 

Waxes are found in many plants and animals. A wax is an ester of a long-chain fatty acid and a long-chain alcohol. The formulas of some common waxes are given in Table 18.3. Beeswax obtained from honeycombs and camauba wax from palm trees are used to give a protective coating to furniture, cars, and floors. Jojoba wax is used in making candles and cosmetics such as lipstick. Lanolin, a mixture of waxes obtained from wool, is used in hand and facial lotions to aid retention of water, which softens the skin. 

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