Lipid/surfactant compounds as a new tool to optimize skin‐care properties of personal‐cleansing products

Abstract

Abstract Surfactants are commonly used in personal‐care products to increase cleansing performance and to create pleasing foam. However, surfactants can also damage the skin by removing skin lipids and causing corneocytes to swell, resulting in increased skin roughness and transepidermal water loss. Newly established methods help to quantify these effects in controlled consumer studies. In addition, in vitro experiments with skin cell cultures show the potential inflammatory action of surfactants, which in the in vivo situation may provoke skin irritation. These detrimental effects are even enhanced by frequent treatment with surfactant‐based personal‐care products. Together with the use of mild surfactant combinations, the addition of surfactant‐compatible lipid compounds has proved a convenient way of not only counteracting the negative side effects of surfactants but also exerting positive skin effects. In a controlled consumer study, analysis of skin lipids after skin cleansing revealed the lipid‐layer strengthening efficacy of lipid/surfactant mixtures that can be solubilized in the personal‐care formulation or disperses as waxy particles. As a result, skin roughness after cleansing treatment, as measured by fast optical in vivo topometry of the skin, is improved, and consumers perceive that their skin is smooth and cared for.