A natural membrane was employed in an automated diffusion system. A mature male Mongolian gerbil sebaceous gland pad was excised and mounted into a suitable retainer so that the external surface was oriented toward the concentrated aqueous drug solution. Aqueous solutions of benzoic acid and the three commonly used parabens were studied. The gerbil sebaceous pad effectively prevented any diffusion of these drug solutions within 15 hr. Water by itself, however, was transported through the skin even against a pressure gradient. Although no apparent diffusion of these compounds occurred, a significant amount of drug was retained by the sebaceous pad. An expression for membrane-water partition coefficients could be calculated. Based upon thicknesses of natural and synthetic membranes, theoretical approximations of diffusion rates were found using lag time calculations.