"Correlation between pH and irritant effect of cleansers marketed for dry skin.

Baranda L, González-Amaro R, Torres-Alvarez B, Alvarez C, Ramírez V.
Servicio de Dermatología Hospital Central Ignacio Morones Prieto, San Luis Potosí, México. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

BACKGROUND: Although it is important that dermatologists and the general population know the irritation potential of products marketed for dry skin used for body cleansing, this information is not usually available. OBJECTIVE: To assess the irritative effect of different soaps and liquid cleansers recommended for sensitive skin. To study the correlation of the irritation effect of each substance with its pH and with the presence or absence of syndet in the product. METHODS: Seventeen products marketed for dry skin and 12 common soaps used by the general population were studied. Fresh soap emulsions (8%) were applied to the volar side of the right forearm of 30 individuals with sensitive skin for 5 consecutive days using aluminum chambers. The appearance of irritation (erythema, scaling and fissures) was recorded, scored, and expressed in an Irritation index (IrIn). The pH of each solution was measured. RESULTS: Products with a low IrIn were White Dove (Dove, Lever Pond's, Toronto, Ontario, Canada), Dove Baby, Cetaphil (bar) (Cetaphil, Gulderma Lab., Forth Worth, TX, USA), Dove liquid cleanser for hands, Dove pink, and Aderma (Adenma, Pierre Fabre, Dermo-Cosmetique, Boulagne, France). Most corresponded to syndet products. Among the most used brand-name soap, Camay Classic (Camay, Procter & Gamble de Mexico, México, U.F.) had the lowest IrIn. Dove Baby was the only product with a neutral pH. A significant correlation between pH and the IrIn of cleansers was found (P < 0.006). CONCLUSIONS: Most products recommended for sensitive skin have a considerable irritation effect, which is related to the pH of the product. Better regulation of advertisement specifications including the pH level and type of cleanser contained is necessary for the majority of soaps and cleansers.

PMID: 12207765 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]"

Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12207765?ord...anel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

My skin agrees with this study! Dove Bar really doesn't irritate my body's skin (but I don’t like the texture and fragrance of it). Cetaphil Bar doesn't irritate my skin too!

Does anyone use Dove or Cetaphil too?

Another study:

"Irritancy ranking of 31 cleansers in the Indian market in a 24-h patch test.

Lakshmi C, Srinivas CR, Anand CV, Mathew AC.
Departments of Dermatology, PSGIMSR, Peelamedu, Coimbatore-641004, India. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

(...)

Dove bar soap (...) body wash proved to be the least irritant cleansers with a total score of less than 1.

(...)"

Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18713074?ord...anel.Pubmed_RVDocSum