Aroma-Zone Ceramide NP Active Ingredient

PROTECTIVE RELIPIDIZER

As the building blocks of the stratum corneum, ceramides protect the skin from dehydration. In skincare formulas, they are the repairing and protective active ingredient for a healthy skin barrier. By strengthening the skin barrier, Ceramide NP helps rebalance damaged and atopic-prone skin. It promotes skin comfort and combats dryness.

By Delphine Duc

Updated on 6/12/2026Reading time: 0 min.

Ceramide NP Aroma-Zone Profile

INCI Name: Ceramide NP

VEGAN

BIOCHEMICAL COMPOSITION

Ceramides are sphingolipids, complex natural lipids.

TRACEABILITY & SUSTAINABILITY

Naturally derived active ingredient. The Ceramide NP used by Aroma-Zone is plant-based, obtained through a biofermentation process using rapeseed.

Ceramide NP: What Effect Does It Have on the Skin?

Ceramides are lipids found in the outermost layer of the skin, the stratum corneum. These lipids strengthen the skin barrier to make it less reactive and protect it from external aggressors. Ceramides are considered the skin’s “cement”: they help maintain the cohesion and strength of the epidermis. Ceramides are also beneficial for hair health: by forming a protective layer around the hair, they make it shinier and more resilient.

Ceramide NP: Scientifically Proven Efficiency

Volunteers with dry skin who applied a cream containing ceramides saw an increase in their skin’s hydration and a decrease in itching.

Skin Tolerance

A Note from Adeline Nalin, Head Pharmacist and Toxicologist at Aroma-Zone

“NP Ceramides, also known as Ceramide III, are lipids naturally present in the skin and essential components of the lipid ‘cement’ in the stratum corneum. They strengthen the skin barrier, reduce reactivity, and protect against external aggressors. Their action helps retain moisture, restore damaged or atopic-prone skin, and combat dryness. As biomimetic active ingredients, they are perfectly tolerated, even by sensitive skin. Our Oat & Ceramide NP Lipid-Restoring Balm was designed to reduce skin reactivity and improve skin comfort.”

Adeline Nalin - Head Pharmacist and Toxicologist

A Safe Ingredient for your Health

A Note from Our Aroma-Zone Toxicologist

"Ceramides NP are lipids naturally present in the skin: gentle, safe, and essential for a strong barrier and protected skin."

Adeline Nalin - Head Pharmacist and Toxicologist

A Note from the Dermatologist

“Ceramides are an excellent option if you have dry, dehydrated, or irritation-prone skin. By strengthening the skin barrier, they help retain moisture, soothe sensitive skin, and reduce feelings of tightness. Incorporated into your routine (morning and/or evening), they offer protection against external aggressors, leaving your skin smoother, more comfortable, and resilient.

Note : Ceramides may be too rich for oily or blemish-prone skin.”

Dr. Dima Haidar - Dermatologist

Formulation Focus with the Aroma-Zone R&D Laboratory

Ceramide NP is one of the main ceramides naturally present in the skin’s lipid barrier. When it is lacking, the skin becomes more sensitive to external aggressors. Incorporating it into a formula therefore helps to effectively restore the skin barrier.

From a formulation standpoint, however, ceramides present a major challenge: their melting point is very high, exceeding 100 °C, which far exceeds the typical working temperatures for emulsions, which do not go beyond 80 °C. To overcome this challenge, ceramides are combined with a fatty alcohol, which lowers their melting point and facilitates their incorporation into the oil phase. It remains essential, however, never to overheat the formula, as exceeding 100 °C could alter the entire fatty phase and accelerate the rancidity of the oils, for example.

For Which Skin Types?

They are suitable for dry, dehydrated, and sensitive skin.

Which Concerns Does This Address?

Dry skin, dehydration, tightness, irritation, redness.

What the Ceramide NP Does for the Skin

Strengthen the skin barrier to make it less reactive and protect it from external aggressors
Maintain the epidermis’s cohesion and strength
Hair health: by forming a protective layer around the hair, they make it shinier and more resilient.

Ceramide NP: An Essential Ingredient for the Skin

Lipid-Restoring Balm

Designed for dry, fragile, or atopic-prone skin, this triple-action lipid-replenishing balm soothes irritation and redness, reduces itching, and intensely nourishes the skin. Enriched with restorative oat oil and lipid-replenishing Ceramide NP, its anti-dryness formula strengthens the skin barrier and protects even the most sensitive skin.

This balm, with its gentle, dermatologically tested formula, is suitable for all ages, including babies from birth.

Discover the Lipid-Restoring Balm

Soothing Ceramide & Phytosterol Oil Serum

A nourishing treatment for reactive skin, this silky-textured, high-tolerance oil serum immediately soothes, reduces redness, restores and strengthens the skin barrier, and calms itching.

Discover the Soothing Ceramide & Phytosterol Oil Serum

Vitamin B12 & Prebiotics Concentrated Serum

Help your skin regain its calm with this high-tolerance serum. Its proven-effective action immediately reduces all signs of discomfort (redness, tightness, itching) and supports your skin’s future by restoring its barrier. Ideal for sensitive skin.

Discover the Vitamin B12 & Prebiotics Concentrated Serum

FAQ

Ceramides are lipids naturally present in the skin, essential for maintaining a healthy skin barrier. Among the many types of ceramides identified, three are particularly important:

Ceramide 1 (or EOS): It plays a key role in organizing the lipids of the skin barrier. In combination with free fatty acids, it helps retain moisture and protects the skin from external aggressors.
Ceramide 2 (or NS): This ceramide helps strengthen cellular cohesion and structure the superficial layers of the epidermis, thereby reducing transepidermal water loss.
Ceramide 3 (or NP): It is particularly effective at restoring the skin’s barrier function and soothing dry, sensitive skin, promoting a smooth, hydrated appearance.

These ceramides work synergistically to maintain the skin’s balance, reduce dehydration, and protect against external irritants.

Yes. Ceramides integrate into the intercellular cement of the stratum corneum and directly strengthen the lipid barrier. They thus help the skin better retain moisture and protect itself from external aggressors.

Yes. By restoring the essential lipids of the skin barrier, Ceramide NP improves skin comfort and can help the skin better tolerate more intense active ingredients, particularly those that may dry out or sensitize the skin. However, it is advisable to first restore the skin’s lipid barrier with ceramides before applying such active ingredients, so that the skin is fully “prepared” to receive them.

Yes. By protecting the skin from dehydration and limiting the breakdown of collagen and elastin, ceramides indirectly help maintain smoother, firmer skin that is less prone to sagging.

There are different types of peptides; this term refers to a low-molecular-weight polymer composed of amino acids linked together by peptide bonds. Collagen peptides (which are proteins), obtained through a hydrolysis process, make collagen more easily absorbed by the intestinal mucosa (dietary supplement) or in the deeper layers of the epidermis (serum).

Ceramides are lipids that play a complementary role to collagen peptides in combating skin sagging. They work to restore the skin barrier and maintain hydration, and also help slow down collagen degradation.

Certain plant oils are naturally rich in compounds similar to ceramides, allowing them to strengthen the skin barrier and restore hydration. Oat oil is the most recommended; you can also consider:

Wheat germ oil: Containing natural ceramides, it helps nourish the skin, reduce dryness, and improve its elasticity
Safflower oil: Rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids and phytosterols, it acts as a carrier for the skin’s ceramides and promotes long-lasting hydration
Sunflower oil: Although it does not directly contain ceramides, it is rich in linoleic acid, which supports their natural production.

These oils, used as ingredients in your formulations or cosmetic products, are particularly beneficial for dry, sensitive, or skin-imbalanced skin.

Spotlight on our specialist editor, Delphine Duc.

Delphine DUC, a biological engineer specializing in cosmetology, has been passionate about the field of cosmetics for nearly 10 years. I started making my own homemade cosmetics using Aroma Zone products to address my skin concerns, then decided to train as a cosmetologist, and finally to create a custom-made cosmetics brand to address everyone’s unique skin concerns.

Bibliography

SKINCARE, The Skin, an Aroma-Zone publication by La Plage

Kahraman, E.; Kaykın, M.; Şahin Bektay, H.; Güngör, S. Recent Advances on Topical Application of Ceramides to Restore Barrier Function of Skin.

Cosmetics 2019, 6 (3), 52. https://doi.org/10.3390/cosmetics6030052.

Pons-Guiraud, A. Dry Skin in Dermatology

A Complex Physiopathology. Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology 2007, 21 (s2), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-3083.2007.02379.x.

Spada, F.; Harrison, I. P.; Barnes, T. M.; Greive, K. A.; Daniels, D.; Townley, J. P.; Mostafa, N.; Fong, A. T.; Tong, P. L.; Shumack, S. A. A Daily Regimen of a Ceramide-Dominant Moisturizing Cream and Cleanser Restores the Skin

Permeability Barrier in Adults with Moderate Eczema: A Randomized Trial. Dermatologic Therapy 2021, 34 (4), e14970. https://doi.org/10.1111/dth.14970.