Ceramides are fats that help hold skin cells together and keep water in the skin. Phytoceramides are ceramides and related lipids from plants such as wheat, taken by mouth for dry skin.
Also known as: oral ceramides, plant ceramides, wheat ceramides, glucosylceramides.
Phytoceramides have no intake value. The wheat-extract trial used 350 mg of a ceramide-rich wheat oil a day for 3 months (Guillou 2011). These are study protocols, not a recommendation.
It is sold in the US as a dietary supplement. Under the 1994 dietary supplement law (DSHEA), FDA does not approve dietary supplements before they are marketed, and the maker, not FDA, is responsible for safety and labeling.
What studies show: in 51 women aged 20 to 63 with dry to very dry skin, 350 mg a day of a ceramide-rich wheat extract oil for 3 months raised skin moisture on the arms and legs more than placebo; the dermatologist's dryness and redness scores did not differ significantly between groups (Guillou 2011). In 29 healthy Japanese adults, ceramides from a wine-lees extract for 12 weeks lowered water loss through the skin compared with placebo, but skin moisture, itching and quality-of-life scores did not differ, and no related side effects were reported (Sanjaya 2024).
Both trials were small, used different plant extracts, and the wheat extract was developed by the company that made it. Results from one extract may not apply to another product.
We could not find a single published half-life or time to peak for phytoceramides that applies to a supplement dose, so we do not list one. Products contain mixtures of plant lipids.
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