Surfactants and the skin

The skin surface is the interface between us, the organism, and the outside world. When we clean the skin we remove not only the bacteria, dirt and grease which have accumulated, but also part of our natural barrier - the stratum corneum. Corneocytes, both singly and in clumps, are released from the skin surface by the action of detergents and mechanical stimulation. So too are the lipids and proteins which make up the intercorneocyte region of the stratum corneum. The analysis of the types and amounts of materials released by a standard scrub procedure may prove useful in the selection of surfactants with particular properties. Changes in the physical properties of the skin occur after washing. For example, changes in skin surface pH and transepidermal water loss (a sensitive index of barrier function) are easily demonstrable. Excessive exposure to surfactants results in repeated damage to the stratum corneum which can in turn lead to an irritant dermatitis. Individual susceptibility to irritant dermatitis varies and this may be demonstrated using a simple patch test technique. This test is a way of potentially increasing the sensitivity of human based assays such as the soap chamber test by preselection of subjects. Alternatively it may be possible to use measurements of function such as transepidermal water loss or laser Doppler blood flow as an index of damage rather than conventional cutaneous irritancy. These approaches may help in the search for the ideal of a non-irritant cleanser.