Abstract
The past decade has witnessed an explosion of new impartial information about the complex interaction of the skin with topically applied substances,
including soaps and detergents. Despite of all these new data, our knowledge on the
exact pathomechanism and molecular events leading to detergent-induced barrier dysfunction
remains incomplete and the answers continue to elude us.
The longtime prevailing opinion which contends that the damaging effect of soaps and
detergents is related to their property to extract and remove useful intercellular
lipids has mostly been abandoned. Although this effect might be involved in the damaging
effect, it is definitely not the sole mechanism, nor, indeed, is it even the main
one. Skin proteins damage, the interaction with keratins and their denaturation, swelling
of cell membranes and collagen fibers, cytotoxicity expressed with cellular lysis
are other important mechanisms.
One proposed mechanism is that an initial stratum corneum hyper-hydration results
from a continuous disruption of the secondary and tertiary structures of keratin protein
by surfactants, exposing new water-binding sites, thereby increasing the hydration
of the membrane. Following evaporation of excess water, the denatured keratin possesses
a decreased water-binding capacity and decreased ability to function as a barrier.
Recent studies have also emphasized the effects of detergents on lipid synthesis,
on lipid-metabolizing enzymes and on keratinocyte differentiation.
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Clinics in DermatologyAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
References
- Semmelweis commemoration. Semmelweis and the oath of Hippocrates.Proc R Soc Med. 1966; 59: 346-352
- The soap chamber test. A new method for assessing the irritancy of soaps.J Am Acad Dermatol. 1979; 1: 35-41
- Soaps, shampoos, and detergents: a scientific soap opera.Clin Dermatol. 1996; 14: 1-132
- Surfactants, skin cleansing protagonists.J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2010; 24: 1-6
- Surfactant-induced stratum corneum hydration in vivo: prediction of the irritation potential of anionic surfactants.J Invest Dermatol. 1993; 101: 310-315
- Effects of surfactants on skin hydration.Curr Probl Dermatol. 1995; 22: 72-79
- Detergents with different chemical properties induce variable degree of cytotoxicity and mRNA expression of lipid-metabolizing enzymes and differentiation markers in cultured keratinocytes.Toxicol In Vitro. 2006; 20: 1387-1394
- Sodium lauryl sulphate alters the mRNA expression of lipid-metabolizing enzymes and PPAR signalling in normal human skin in vivo.Exp Dermatol. 2009; 18: 1010-1015
Article info
Footnotes
☆Portions of this contribution were adapted with permission from the following: Wolf R, Orion E, Parish LC. A scientific soap opera and winter itch. Skinmed 2004;3:9-10. Wolf R, Orion E, Davidovici B. Skin care products and subtle data manipulation. Clin Dermatol 2007;25:222-4.
Identification
Copyright
© 2012 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
