Assessment of the skin barrier. (a) Shows the increase in hydration, which is much greater in the treatment arm compared to the control and was significant in weeks 4–12 (p < 0.05). (b) (TEWL) results (which correlate with hydration). (c) IHC staining for hyaluronic acid. (d) The intensity of staining over sequential time points with p < 0.05 at weeks 4 (p = 0.014), 12 (p = 0.039), and 16 (p = 0.042), and in qRT-PCR (e) at week 16 (p = 0.049) (significant results marked with a star). There were 40 subjects in the group for the shortest time period (4 weeks); 10 subjects exited at this (and every subsequent) time point, leaving 30 subjects in the week 8 group, 20 subjects in the week 12 group, and finally, 10 subjects in the week 16 group. Yellow = normal skin (day 0). IHC, immunohistochemistry; qRT-PCR, quantitative real-time PCR.