M any skin diseases are based in the dermal layer of the skin like-acne, alopecia, psoriasis, herpes zoster, etc. Conventional topical formulations have not proved to be effective in managing these conditions because of poor retention in the skin. Some formulations do not penetrate through the stratum corneum and some pass through the skin very quickly. Therefore, there is need to develop a strategy to deliver drugs to the dermis for better management of these conditions. Vesicular systems like liposomes, niosomes, ethosomes and transfersomes have been used by many researchers to localize drugs in the dermal layer and have been fairly successful. Some vesicles were found to be more effective in retaining drug to the skin and some were more effective in transdermal delivery. This article summarizes and compares the work done in the last decade on this topic and provides a conclusion.