Effects of petrolatum, a petrolatum depositing body wash and a regular body wash on biomarkers and biophysical properties of the stratum corneum.

Background: An important trend in the personal care industry involves the development of body wash products that not only clean the skin without damage but deposit conditioning ingredients to improve skin barrier function.

Objective: The objective of this study was to develop skin biomarker measures to quantify the treatment effects of body wash products.

Methods: We employed analysis of structural proteins (keratin 1,10,11 and involucrin), a natural moisturizing factor (pyrrolidone carboxylic acid) and an inflammatory mediator (IL-1ra/IL-1α) from adhesive discs with dry skin grading, TEWL and capacitance measurements to compare the effects of direct application of petrolatum, a high petrolatum depositing body wash, and a regular body wash on dry leg skin in a standard leg-wash treatment protocol.

Penetration of Petrolatum in Stratum Corneum from Bodywash Formulation.

Petrolatum is a mixture of hydrocarbons that is widely used as a moisturizer. It is incorporated in bodywash formulations to help hydrate and maintain healthy skin appearance. The aim of this study was to investigate skin deposition and penetration of petrolatum from an experimental bodywash system consisting of petrolatum .

Effects of season stratum corneum barrier function and skin biomarkers.

The skin on the lower legs of 25 female subjects was evaluated first in the winter, and then again in the summer of the same subjects. Barrier function was determined by measuring transepidermal water loss (TEWL), and skin hydration and dryness were evaluated by electrical measurements (Corneometer ® CM825) and visual grading. Stratum corneum (SC) was sampled using 10 sequential D-Squame sampling discs and analyzed for 2-pyrrolidone-5-carboxylic acid (PCA), keratin-1,10,11, interleukin 1α (IL-1α), interleukin 1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra), selected ceramides, cholesterol, cholesterol sulfate, and selected free fatty acids.