Application of lipidomics to reveal differences in facial skin surface lipids between males and females

Summary

Purpose

To analyze and compare differences in facial skin surface lipids (SSL) between 18- to 25-year-old males and females.

Methods

Ultra-performance liquid chromatography quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS) technology was used to measure the facial SSL composition of 18- to 25-year-old males and females. Measurement results were combined with the orthogonal projections to latent structures discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) model for analysis and comparisons, and differences in lipids with significance were selected.

Results

There were significant differences in facial SSL composition between 18- to 25-year-old males and females. Under selected conditions, 37 types of lipids with significant differences were obtained (P ≤ .05). All of them had higher content in females, and primarily included ceramides (Cers), glucosylceramide (GlcCer), phosphatidylserine (PS), phosphatidylcholine (PC), and others.

Conclusions

There are significant differences in facial SSL between 18- to 25-year-old males and females.