Dr. Pickart, I was curious to find out how the Celes Oil contains cholesterol esters as well as lanosterol. I always thought of cholesterol as an evil enemy until now! I don't know much about lanosterol since I haven't heard of it before...

Anyway, that brings me to the question.
I would like to know how much EXACTLY cholesterol/lanosterol is usually naturally found in healthy skin and whether your Celes Oil tries to mimick that same amount? Do we lose lanosterol/cholesterol in our skin as we age?

Looking forward to trying Celes Oil soon after hearing some positive feedback from a friend who says it works beautifully during the winter months.

I don't have a good answer. Super Sterol is from Croda Inc. and obtained from sheep wool. These fat-like molecules make sheep wool in clothes warm, even if wet. About 20 years ago a veterinarian told me about his studies on horses and humans that the sterols from sheep wool had a very good effect on skin condition. But then the sterols were very expensive and in some users were allergic. Since then Croda has produced the refined wool sterols at a low price and very low allergen effects that makes their product use possible.

Lanolin from wool has been used on skin for many, many years

Functional Benefits from Croda.
-Similar in structure to the lipids of the stratum corneum
-Penetrates the stratum corneum
-Maintains or improves skin barrier function
-Imparts skin conditioning, repair, protection & moisturizing benefits
-Proven to repair dry & cracked lips and improve the condition of dry & cracked hands
-Virtually odorless and colorless

Some references of thousands available.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lanolin

J Lipid Res. 1974 Nov;15(6):563-73.
In vivo studies of sterol and squalene secretion by human skin.
Nikkari T, Schreibman PH, Ahrens EH Jr.
Abstract

This work was aimed at studying the quantity and composition of sterols and squalene secreted by the human skin. Lipids secreted by the entire skin were recovered by Soxhlet extraction of the clothing worn by a patient for 24 hr with a chloroform-methanol azeotrope and by extracting the water of a shower taken by the patient at the end of the 24-hr period. Squalene and sterols were quantified by gas-liquid chromatography. Plant sterols were separated from total sterols by thin-layer chromatography. Free and esterified cholesterol were separated by digitonin precipitation. In eight adults, seven of them with hyperlipoproteinemia, the total skin secretion of cholesterol ranged from 59 to 108 mg/day, with a mean of 88 +/- 17 (SD) mg/day. There was no difference in cholesterol secretion between the normocholesterolemic individual and the hypercholesterolemic ones, nor were there any differences according to type of hyperlipoproteinemia. Free cholesterol amounted to 54 +/- 5% of the total cholesterol. The secretion of squalene ranged from 125 to 475 mg/day in five patients. The secretion of both squalene and cholesterol was quite constant for any individual on a given diet. Cholesterol constituted 95.6 +/- 0.5% of the digitonin-precipitable total body surface sterols of eight patients, and lathosterol, the next largest fraction, 3.4 +/- 0.4%. Total plant sterols formed only 0.65 +/- 0.38% and beta-sitosterol 0.35 +/- 0.23% of the skin surface sterols in six patients whose dietary beta-sitosterol intake ranged from 230 to 3400 mg/day.

J Dermatol Sci. 2011 Dec;64(3):153-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jdermsci.2011.08.004. Epub 2011 Aug 22.
Integral hair lipid in human hair follicle.
Lee WS.
Author information
Abstract

Integral hair lipid (IHL) is bound to the keratinized cell surface to make an environmentally resistant lipid envelope. It is mainly positioned on the hair cuticle and inner root sheath. IHL in the hair follicle may regard as hair barrier to be similar to the epidermal lipid layer functioning as skin barrier. Major constituents of IHL are fatty acid, phytosphingosine, ceramide in decreasing order. Minor constituents of IHL are cholesterol, cholesterol sulfate and cholesterol oleate. Cuticle or cortical cell surface in hair are abundant in fatty acids unlike the keratinized area of epidermis or sebaceous gland, and about 30-40% of such fatty acids are composed of 18-methyl-eicosanoic acid which is known to be bound to proteins by ester or thioester bond. Various factors including moisture, solvent, oxidative damage during bleaching or permanent waving affect IHL. Photochemical changes also can occur in IHL as well as in hair protein and hair pigment. Lipid metabolism is thought to play an essential role in lipid envelope of hair, but also involvement in hair development and function.

Oh, wow. I never expected such a detailed reply. This is amazing. Thank you so much for the information, Dr. Pickart. So it seems that that these cholesterols found in your Celes Oil help repel water as well as moisturize overly dry skin.

I know that many people like to apply their moisturizers right after washing or taking a shower. I've always tried to stay away from this after reading how it can trap excess water in the skin and how that water isn't good for one's skin.

Would you recommend applying your Celes Oil (or Emu Oil, or Squalane) right after washing the face/body? Or would waiting a couple of minutes to help evaporate excess moisture be important in order to not keep the skin overly wet, which might interfere with making new skin?

I've read you don't like hyaluronic acid for these reason, which is why I ask whether it would be better to wait for water to evaporate off the skin first before applying a healing biological oil. I just want to do what is the absolute best for my skin's health.