NEW PERSPECTIVES ON SKIN-COMPATIBLE DETERGENTS FOR SENSITIVE SKIN.

An interdisciplinary working group comprising manufactures of washing machines and household detergents (IKW/ZVEI) has studied whether or not household detergents today can provoke skin reactions. The results showed that modern technologies (washing machines and detergents) do not generally lead to higher levels of residues on washed textiles than the technologies of the 1980s. Consumer perception as to whether detergents are responsible for skin reactions varies according to the type of skin they have and is inevitably subjective. People suffering from allergies, atopic or sensitive skin neurodermatits and combinations of theses have different laundering habits and detergent product requirements from people with normal skin type who represent the average of the German population. To meet theses different requirements, a skin compatible detergent was developed and tested according to a stepwise strategy involving in vivo and in vitro test methods. In addition to the laboratory tests, the new product was tested in a home-use test by a group of consumers with sensitive skin to evaluate skin compatibility and product acceptance. This project was carried out in cooperation with the German Allergy and Asthma Association (Deutscher Allergie- und Asthma-bund e. V., DAAB).

Allergies, Atopic skin neurodermatitis , Barrier function, Detergents, EpiDerm, Household detergents, Human studies, IL-1a, Interleukin 1, MTT, MTT ET-50 tissue viability assay, MTT assay, Neurodermatitis, Patch test, Sensitive skin, Sensitive skin neurodermatits, Skin-compatible detergents, TEWL