CUTANEOUS EFFECTS OF DEAD SEA MUD 277 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This project was funded by the Scientifi c Research Fund, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientifi c Research, Jordan (grant number: 2008/19/ ﻁ ﺹ/ 2) and was supported by the Hashemite University through the use of Skin Biophysical Measurements facilities at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. The authors would like to acknowledge Dr. Hatim S. AlKhatib (Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Jordan) for his helpful suggestions and discussions. REFERENCES (1) H. Matz, E. Orion, and R. Wolf, Balneotherapy in dermatology, Dermatol. Ther., 16(2), 132–140 (2003). (2) D. J. Abels, T. Rose, and J. E. Bearman, Trea tment of psoriasis at a Dead sea dermatology clinic, Int. J. Dermatol., 34(2), 134–137 (1995). T able III pH Values for Forearms Treated with “As Is” Mud (n = 20), Salted Mud (n = 20), Over-the-Shelf Mud (n = 20), and Gel (n = 15), at Baseline, Directly, 30 Min, and 60 Min after Mud Removal, Compared with Untreated Forearms “As Is” mud Time pH—“As Is” mud pH—control Baseline 5.47 ± 0.12 5.47 ± 0.13 Direct 6.23 ± 0.07 6.25 ± 0.07 30 min 6.27 ± 0.07 6.16 ± 0.07 60 min 6.24 ± 0.07 6.19 ± 0.09 Salted mud Time pH—salted mud pH—control Baseline 5.72 ± 0.15 5.73 ± 0.15 Direct 6.27 ± 0.07 6.32 ± 0.06 30 min 6.29 ± 0.07 6.28 ± 0.06 60 min 6.29 ± 0.08 6.30 ± 0.06 Over-the-shelf mud Time pH—over-the-shelf mud pH—control Baseline 5.98 ± 0.17 6.10 ± 0.21 Direct 6.57 ± 0.08 6.60 ± 0.08 30 min 6.49 ± 0.10 6.53 ± 0.10 60 min 6.52 ± 0.09 6.50 ± 0.09 Gel Time pH—gel pH—control Baseline 6.02 ± 0.22 6.13 ± 0.22 Direct 6.53 ± 0.05 6.55 ± 0.11 30 min 6.53 ± 0.06 6.56 ± 0.07 60 min 6.52 ± 0.07 6.57 ± 0.08 Values represented as mean ± SEM.

JOURNAL OF COSMETIC SCIENCE 278 (3) J. Shani, S. Barak, D. Levi, M. Ram, E. R. Sc hachner, T. Schlesinger, H. Robberecht, R. Van Grieken, and W. W. Avrach, Skin penetration of minerals in psoriatics and guinea-pigs bathing in hypertonic salt solutions, Pharmacol. Res. Commun., 17(6), 501–512 (1985). (4) F. Levi-Schaffer, J. Shani, Y. Politi, E. Rub inchik, and S. Brenner, Inhibition of proliferation of psoriatic and healthy fi broblasts in cell culture by selected Dead-sea salts, Pharmacology, 52(5), 321–328 (1996). (5) E. Proksch, H. P. Nissen, M. Bremgartner, and C. Urquhart, Bathing in a magnesium-rich Dead Sea salt solution improves skin barrier function, enhances skin hydration, and reduces infl ammation in atopic dry skin, Int. J. Dermatol., 44(2), 151–157 (2005). (6) A. Khlaifat, O. Al-Khashman, and H. Qutob, Ph ysical and chemical characterization of Dead Sea mud, Mater. Char., 61(5), 564–568 (2010). (7) P. G. M. Van der Valk, M. Kucharekova, and R. A. Tupker, “Transepidermal Water Loss and Its Rela- tion to Barrier Function and Skin Irritation,” in Bioengineering of the Skin: Water and the Stratum Corneum, J. W. Fluhr, P. Elsner, E. Berardesca, and H. I. Maibach. Eds. (CRC Press, New York, NY, 2005), 2nd Ed., pp. 97–104. (8) A. O. Barel and P. Clarys, Study of the strat um corneum barrier function by transepidermal water loss measurements: comparison between two commercial instruments: Evaporimeter and Tewameter, Skin Pharmacol., 8(4), 186–195 (1995). (9) M. Loden, Effect of moisturizers on epidermal barrier function, Clin. Dermatol., 30(3), 286–296 (2012). (10) R. Wickett and M. Visscher, Structure and fu nction of the epidermal barrier, Am. J. Infect. Control., 34, 98–110 (2006). (11) M. D. Batt, W. B. Davis, E. Fairhurst, W. A. Gerrard, and B. D. Ridge, Changes in the physical proper- ties of the stratum corneum following treatment with glycerol, J. Soc. Cosmet. Chem., 39, 367–381 (1988).