Using skin models to assess the effects of a pre-work cream. Methodological aspects and perspective of the industry.

Background: There is a basic necessity to understand the mechanisms of the protective effects of pre-work creams. Additionally a lot of workplace-related irritants cannot be tested with the existing in vivo methods due to their toxicological profile. As a consequence, there is a need for additional in vitro models for testing pre-work creams.

Using skin models to assess the effects of a protection cream on skin barrier function.

Background: There is a basic necessity to understand the mechanisms of the protective effects of emulsions. This would promote the development of protective cosmetics and therefore improve the prevention and treatment of occupational skin diseases. However, for such studies, no reliable skin model is available.

Skin cleansers for occupational use: testing the skin compatibility of different formulations.

Objectives: Skin-compatible hand cleansing is crucial for the prevention of occupational dermatitis. In this article we give an overview of skin-cleansing products and their ingredients and investigate whether solvents or abrasives could be avoided in cleansers for severely soiled skin.

Methods: Comparison of skin compatibility, cleansing power and effectiveness of different formulations of skin cleansers was performed via Duhring chamber tests [visual score, trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL)] and standard hand-wash tests.

Smoking and dietary intake of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as sources of interindividual variability in the baseline excretion of 1-hydroxypyrene in urine.

Seventy-six male volunteers, who were not occupationally exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), participated in a study on the effect of tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, dietary PAH intake, age, and body fat content on the baseline excretion of 1-hydroxypyrene in urine. Major determinants of urinary 1-hydroxypyrene excretion were smoking, dietary PAH intake, and age. The mean 1-hydroxypyrene concentrations in the urine of the volunteers in this study ranged between 0.