Mild but effective skin cleansing-Evaluation of laureth-23 as a primary surfactant

Skin cleansing products are among the main reasons for the development of hand eczema. Therefore, a mild but effective skin cleansing product is of particular interest, especially in the work place, where various contaminations frequently have to be removed from hands.

In this study, the potential of laureth-23 as a primary surfactant was evaluated and compared to other fatty alcohol ethoxylates (FAEO). Also, different laureth-23 surfactant combinations were compared to each other. Therefore, transepidermal water loss, erythema and visual scoring were measured after occlusive patch testing in 24 healthy subjects (aged 18-55). Afterwards, the results were ranked from low to high irritant potential and an irritation score was calculated. Furthermore, the cleaning performance was tested using an automated cleansing device in 10 healthy subjects (aged 18-55).

The results confirmed the low irritant potential of laureth-23 and blends thereof. Within the different laureth-23 surfactant combinations, the combination of laureth-23 with a mild amphoteric and a mild anionic surfactant was superior to other laureth-23 surfactant combinations like laureth-23/anionic/anionic regarding skin compatibility as well as cleaning performance.

In conclusion, laureth-23 showed very good performance as a primary surfactant. Especially, the combination of laureth-23, cocamidopropyl betaine and disodium laureth sulfosuccinate was mild to the skin while also showing good cleansing performance.