A New Approach for Patients With Skin Disease
Zoe Diana Draelos (1), Jill Sommerville (2) , Emer Gilligan (3)
(1)MD, Dermatology Consulting Services, High Point, North Carolina, US (2)Medical Affairs, WaterWipes UC Drogheda, Ireland; (Corresponding Author) (3)External Affairs Director, WaterWipes UC Drogheda, Ireland.
Personal hygiene is important for all adults; however, individuals with skin disease may find casual cleansing during the day difficult due to skin irritation. Wet wipes are a convenient option for adults with no skin disease who need to freshen up when away from home. For those with skin disease the wipe may leave behind a residue containing irritating surfactants. This research examined the tolerability and efficacy of a novel minimal ingredient wet wipe in adults with skin disease and help improve quality of life.
27 male and female subjects 18+ years of age who signed consent and with dermatologist diagnosed skin disease were enrolled in a
14-day study. Subjects underwent baseline dermatologist investigator clinical grading and self-assessment for dryness, skin texture/roughness (tactile), skin texture/roughness (visual), desquamation/flakiness, erythema, and overall appearance of healthy skin. The investigator assessed tolerability in terms of skin itching, stinging, and burning on the same ordinal scale by querying the subject. All assessments were conducted on the same 5-point ordinal grading scale (0=none, 1=minimal, 2=mild, 3=moderate, 4=severe). These assessments were repeated at day 14. Subjects used 2-4 wipes for all over body cleansing daily and recorded use in a compliance diary.
27 male and female subjects 18+ years of age who signed consent and with dermatologist diagnosed skin disease were enrolled in a 14-day study. Subjects underwent baseline dermatologist investigator clinical grading and self-assessment for dryness, skin texture/roughness (tactile), skin texture/roughness (visual), desquamation/flakiness, erythema, and overall appearance of healthy skin. The investigator assessed tolerability in terms of skin itching, stinging, and burning on the same ordinal scale by querying the subject.
All assessments were conducted on the same 5-point ordinal grading scale (0=none, 1=minimal, 2=mild, 3=moderate,
4=severe). These assessments were repeated at day 14. Subjects used 2-4 wipes for all over body cleansing daily and recorded use in a compliance diary. 27/27 subjects successfully completed the study.
There was a statistically significant dermatologist investigator assessed improvement with the study wipe represented by 31% improvement in dryness, a 42% improvement in tactile skin roughness (p=0.008), a 43% improvement in visual skin texture roughness (p=0.004), a 64% improvement in skin desquamation (p=0.031), a 32% improvement in skin erythema (p=0.008), and a 38% improvement in overall appearance of healthy skin (p=0.002). No sensory issues were noted by the subjects.
The subjects rated statistically significant improvement in all the studies skin parameters to include a 38% improvement in dryness (p=0.001), 43% improvement in tactile skin roughness (p=0.002), a 43% improvement in visual skin texture roughness (p=0.002), a 45% improvement in skin desquamation (p=0.005), a 27% improvement in skin erythema (p=0.005), and a 26% improvement in overall appearance of healthy skin (p=0.003)
The ability of the studied wipe to provide excellent cleansing of the body is due to the low surface tension of the purified water used to wet the rayon base sheet. Surface tension is the attractive force between water molecules that draws them together to produce a discrete droplet. The purified water used to wet the wipes combined with the grapefruit seed extract results in a further reduced surface tension. This avoids the addition of chemical surfactants common in cosmetic products.
Typically, wipe manufacturers achieve this low surface tension through the addition of surfactants with hydrophobic and hydrophilic end chains, where the hydrophobic end binds to the surface dirt and the hydrophilic end binds to water resulting in skin cleansing. However, surfactants can damage the skin barrier by not only removing surface dirt, but also attaching to the lipids in the intercellular spaces. This concern may be alleviated by choosing wet wipes free from surfactants, formulated with 99.9% ultra pure water and a fruit extract that acts as a mild skin conditioner. Water used in wet wipes must be specially treated to remove salt and residual minerals that contribute to water hardness.
This different technique for creating a wet wipe means people with skin disease who normally cannot use a wet wipe now have a convenient and hygienic option without aggravating their skin disease.
Disclosure: This study was funded by WaterWipes UC
