Detection of the action of salicylic acid on the normal stratum corneum.

The undoubted clinical usefulness of salicylic acid contrasts markedly with its barely detectable action on normal skin. In this study we have attempted to extend our understanding of the action of salicylic acid by monitoring its effect on the stratum corneum using newly developed techniques for assessing desquamation, as well as using conventional methods for measuring other aspects of epidermal activity. Our findings have succeeded in demonstrating that salicylic acid enhances the shedding of corneocytes and we suggest that this compound in some way decreases corneocyte to corneocyte cohesion. We have confirmed that salicylic acid has no effect on the mitotic activity of the normal epidermis.