Ingredient intelligence
Cholesterol
Skin barrier · Cholesterol · C27H46O
Cholesterol is one of the three lipid classes of the stratum corneum lamellae, alongside ceramides and free fatty acids.
Molecular identity
- Formula
- C27H46O
- Molecular weight
- 386.7 g/mol
- PubChem CID
- 5997
- ChEBI
- CHEBI:16113
Biological targets
HMG-CoA reductase (HMGCR)
medium confidenceassociated with · enzyme
UniProt P04035ABCA12 lipid transporter
medium confidenceassociated with · transporter
UniProt Q86UK0
How could this ingredient interact with biology?
Biological network
Ingredient → molecule → target → gene/protein → pathway → process → studied outcome. Relationship strength is drawn from the curated confidence tier; nothing is added to make the chain look complete.
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Text alternative for this network
- Cholesterol is molecule Cholesterol — high confidence
- Cholesterol associated with HMG-CoA reductase (HMGCR) — medium confidence
- Cholesterol associated with ABCA12 lipid transporter — medium confidence
- HMG-CoA reductase (HMGCR) encoded by HMGCR — medium confidence
- ABCA12 lipid transporter encoded by ABCA12 — medium confidence
- HMGCR participates in Cholesterol biosynthesis — medium confidence
- ABCA12 participates in Cholesterol biosynthesis — medium confidence
- HMGCR participates in Formation of the cornified envelope — medium confidence
- ABCA12 participates in Formation of the cornified envelope — medium confidence
- Cholesterol biosynthesis associated with Epidermal barrier formation — high confidence
- Formation of the cornified envelope associated with Epidermal barrier formation — medium confidence
- Epidermal barrier formation studied in Studied as part of physiological lipid barrier mixtures — medium confidence
Biological pathways
Cholesterol biosynthesis
high confidenceEpidermal sterol synthesis supplies barrier lipids.
Reactome R-HSA-191273
Formation of the cornified envelope
medium confidenceLipid lamellae assembly.
Reactome R-HSA-6809371
Evidence engine
Insufficient
Not enough curated evidence to characterise this ingredient.
Skinceptor Evidence Index
18
experimental · of 100
This index is a research-navigation aid describing how much evidence exists and how it was produced. It is not a medical safety score, an efficacy guarantee, or a clinical recommendation.
Study composition
- Animal1
- Review1
- Total studies
- 2
- Human studies
- 0
- Largest sample
- Data unavailable
- Range
- 1996–2003
Index breakdown
- Study design quality40% × 28%
Mean design weight across curated studies (meta-analysis 1.0, RCT 0.9, other human 0.7, review 0.45, animal 0.35, in-vitro 0.25).
- Human evidence share0% × 22%
Proportion of curated evidence measured in people rather than cells or animals.
- Evidence volume50% × 14%
Log-scaled count of curated studies, so volume alone cannot dominate the score.
- Largest sample size0% × 12%
Log-scaled largest reported sample size across curated human studies.
- Replication0% × 12%
Independent human studies, capped at three; one study is never treated as replicated.
- Recency0% × 7%
Linear decay over a twenty-year window from the most recent curated publication.
- Source traceability0% × 5%
Share of curated studies with a verified PMID or DOI in this dataset.
Insufficient comparable evidence for quantitative synthesis.
Research timeline
How the evidence accumulated
1996
Physiological lipid mixtures and accelerated barrier recovery
Animalsample size unavailable · Archives of Dermatological Research
2003
Stratum corneum lipids and barrier function: ceramide, cholesterol and free fatty acid ratios
Reviewsample size unavailable · Journal of Lipid Research (review)
Ingredient fingerprint
10 nodes · 12 relationships · seed "cholesterol"
The fingerprint is a deterministic visual signature: ridge amplitude comes from the number of entities in each tier, node placement from identifier hashes, and opacity from confidence. Two ingredients can never produce the same figure unless their networks are identical.
Open in Biology as Art →Research
2 curated studies
Stratum corneum lipids and barrier function: ceramide, cholesterol and free fatty acid ratios
Establishes the approximately equimolar ceramide/cholesterol/free fatty acid composition required for competent lamellar barrier structure.
Limitations — Review; ratio requirements derived largely from animal and ex-vivo models.
Physiological lipid mixtures and accelerated barrier recovery
Reported that only balanced ceramide/cholesterol/fatty acid mixtures accelerated barrier recovery; incomplete mixtures delayed it.
Limitations — Animal model; identifier not verified during curation.
Community evidence
Submitted by readers
Reader submissions appear here only after review. They are not part of the curated dataset and do not affect the Skinceptor Evidence Index.
No approved community submissions yet.
Sources
- PubChem 5997retrieved 2026-09-14
- Reactome R-HSA-191273retrieved 2026-09-14
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