Modern Mild Skin Cleansing

Zhengyuan Li

doi:10.4236/jcdsa.2020.102009

Abstract

Surfactant, an abbreviation for the surface-active agent, is utilized in almost every industry. It brings two immiscible phases such as oil and water into one single homogeneous phase, leading to various industrial applications such as food, painting, coating, drug delivery as well as cosmetics. The use of surfactants in skin cleansing is very common to keep skin healthy. Their function herein is to lower the interfacial tension at the dirt/water and skin/water interfaces, thereby detaching dirt, extra sebum or oils from the skin surface. But this application could bring side effects attributed to the penetration of surfactants into the skin, including skin proteins denaturation, stratum corneum lipids removal or even lipids organization disruption in the stratum corneum. This review summarizes modern mild skin cleansing technologies, which address the side effects brought by the surfactants.

Highlights

Nowadays, people pay more attention to their beauty
Li structure such as epidermis structure and surfactants including their classifications; followed by a summary of the proposed surfactant penetration models which are the surfactant monomer penetration model, the surfactant micelle penetration model and the charge density correlation model; a simple overview of the two-stage surfactant-protein interaction and the three possible mechanisms of how surfactants interact with skin lipids; and the current approaches to the formulation of mild cleansers based on the proposed surfactant skin penetration models and possible mechanisms of surfactant interactions with skin proteins and lipids discussed above [6] [9] [10] [11] [12]
There are three generally accepted models that have partially explained the mechanisms behind surfactant penetrating into skin

Summary

Introduction

People pay more attention to their beauty. A woman usually wears makeup every day, the proper cleansing process afterward is important, making skin healthy and comfortable. To the best of our knowledge, there has been a lack of literature summary of modern mild skin cleansing technologies. To address this issue, a general overview will be given first about the skin. Li structure such as epidermis structure and surfactants including their classifications; followed by a summary of the proposed surfactant penetration models which are the surfactant monomer penetration model, the surfactant micelle penetration model and the charge density correlation model; a simple overview of the two-stage surfactant-protein interaction and the three possible mechanisms of how surfactants interact with skin lipids; and the current approaches to the formulation of mild cleansers based on the proposed surfactant skin penetration models and possible mechanisms of surfactant interactions with skin proteins and lipids discussed above [6] [9] [10] [11] [12]

Skin Structure

An Introduction to Surfactant

Surfactant Skin Penetration Models

Modern Mild Cleanser Formulation

Conclusion and Perspectives