Skin-'that unfakeable young surface'

The 20-to 25-year period from the mid-1960s to the early 1990s represents, in many ways, a 'golden era' in the understanding of skin barrier function, percutaneous penetration and (trans)dermal drug delivery. From the ground-breaking mechanistic work of Scheuplein and Blank, and the 'gold standard' in vivo skin absorption experiments of Feldmann and Maibach, through the unravelling of the stratum corneum's structural and physicochemical characteristics that make it such an incredible feat of bioengineering, to the elegant biophysical and modelling studies of Potts, Francoeur and many others, the idea of administering drugs rationally to treat both local and systemic diseases was transformed from something close to the ravings of a lunatic to the reality of significant therapeutic and commercial success. This short article attempts to pick out some of the highlights along the way from the viewpoint of an interested observer and occasional participant in the 'action'.