Hand and forearm skin: comparison of their respective responsiveness to surfactants

Background/aims: Skin compatibility of detergent products is usually evalua ted using predictive tests where products are applied on the back or the fo rearm of the volunteers, even if those products come more readily into cont act with consumers' hands. The current study aimed at comparing the skin re sponsiveness of hands and volar and dorsal forearms to a surfactant solutio n. Method: Volunteers soaked simultaneously their forearms and hands in a solu tion of anionic surfactants, at 40 degreesC for 20 min, thrice a day and fo r 2 consecutive days. Skin condition on the hands, and the volar and dorsal forearms was evaluated by clinical examination and instrumental measuremen ts. Results: Significant differences were observed at baseline for various skin parameters, especially those related to skin dryness. After repetitive con tacts with the surfactant solution, a parallel evolution of most skin param eters was observed - i.e., an absence of change in instrumentally measured erythema and transepidermal water loss, a similar decrease in corneometry v alues, and a similar increase in staining of the stratum corneum strippings and in clinical dryness. However, an opposite effect of the soakings on th e cohesiveness between corneocytes harvested by tape strippings from hand a nd forearm was observed. Conclusion: For most parameters, skin responsiveness to surfactants appears to be quite similar on the hands and forearms. It is inferred that forearm s can be conveniently used to predict interaction of surfactants with hands .