While maintaining a strong SC barrier is important for patients with various conditions, even mild cleansers can disrupt the SC barrier. Low molecular weight hydro phobically-modified polymers (HMPs) are particularly efficient at associating surfactant such as sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) due to the strong interactions with the hydrophobic tail of the surfactant with the hydrophobic domains on the HMP. We have found that surfactant associated with the HMP lowers the effective concentration of free surfactant micelles in solution and reduces the amount of surfactant that penetrates into the skin, thereby reducing the disruption of skin lipids. However, these formulations can still provide the desirable foaming aesthetics and cleansing efficacy desired by patients (data presented elsewhere).1 Here we show that these large polymer-surfactant complexes are less aggressive to the lipid barrier in the stratum corneum than traditional cleansing systems.
Surfactant Association with Hydrophobically Modified Polymers Leads to Reduced Barrier Penetration
Sidney B. Hornby, M.S. Russell M. Walters, Ph.D.b Yash Kamath, Ph.D. c •Yohini Appa, Ph.D. a
Neutrogena Corporation, Los Angeles, CA USA b Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. Skillman, NJ, USA Kamath Consulting, Monmouth Junction, NJ, USA