The invention is directed to a strategy for providing therapeutic or cosmeticbenefit to skin by topically applying arginine chemically bound to a second(non-oligo arginine) compound in order to increase transepithelial delivery ofarginine through a combination of increased solubility and flux across theskin. The arginine heteromers ofthe invention can add other complementary orbeneficial properties for the skin beyond those that are arginine-related.
