Water plays an important role for normal functioning of the skin. The stratum corneum (SC) – the outermost layer of the epidermis – maintains the skin barrier function and regulates the water balance in the organism. Water is non-homogeneously distributed in the SC and its correct determination is important in dermatology and cosmetology. Confocal Raman microspectroscopy (CRM) is the most suitable non-invasive method to determine depth profiles of the water concentration, water with different mobility and hydrogen bonding states of water molecules in human skin in vivo, i.e. to study the SC hydration and moisturising. An in vivo application of CRM on normal human skin for investigation of the water concentration and water bonding properties in the SC is reviewed in this paper. Investigations performed on volunteers of two age groups reveal changes, which show that the SC of older skin binds water more efficiently compared to younger skin.

水对于皮肤的正常功能起着重要作用。角质层（SC）–表皮的最外层–维持皮肤屏障功能并调节机体中的水平衡。水在SC中分布不均匀，其正确确定对皮肤病学和美容学很重要。共聚焦拉曼光谱法（CRM）是最适合的非侵入性方法，用于确定体内人皮肤中水浓度，具有不同迁移率的水和水分子的氢键状态的深度曲线，即研究SC的保湿和保湿作用。一个在体内本文综述了CRM在正常人皮肤上的应用，以研究SC中的水浓度和水结合特性。对两个年龄组的志愿者进行的调查显示出变化，这表明与年轻的皮肤相比，年龄较大的皮肤的SC能够更有效地结合水。