Soaps and Detergents
Hi folks,
I just found out the hard way that shampoos like Nizoral can be
irritating om the face. I had been applying Nizoral shampoo to my
face every other day and letting it soak for 5 to 10 minutes. After
about a week of this, my face was really irritated and dry. I patch
tested the shampoo on my inner arm for 24 hours. Sure enough, an
irritation reaction occurred. The Nizoral cream has never irritated
me, so it must the shampoo base.
After my experience and reading the following article, I’ll stick
with just cool water for washing my face. Seems, that cleansers can
lead to a long lasting cycle of irritation and skin damage. Take a
look.
Contact Dermatitis-Soaps and Detergents
Those whose occupations involve extensive soaping of the skin, such
as dishwashers, housewives, laundresses and surgeons, clinically show
dehydrationor shrivelling of the keratin layers, which leads to
irriation of the "primary irritant" type. Patch tests with 2% soap
solution theoretically can pick up a true allergy, but I am
unconvinced. Perhaps coconut-oil-containing soap are wourse than
others. Neutral soaps, such as Lowila, Basis, Oilatum, Hazeline or
Dermaphyllic are much less drying. Many of the stronger antibacterial
soaps, such as Dial, Zest, Lifebuoy, Safeguard and Palmolive Gold,
are sensitizing as well as drying, and may be photosensitizing.
Contact with clothing washed in strong soaps or detergents (e.g.,
sheets used by bed patients) can lead to dermatitis. This is
especially true if bleach or whitener is used. the great offenders in
this regard are Axion, Bold, Ajax Detergent, cold Power, Salveo Tabs,
Coldwater All, Amway, Arm & Hammer, Era and Dynamo.
Fair-skinned, sensitive or elderly people who bathe a lot in hot
showers or tubs can develop an asteatotic eczema that can be
extremely intractable. Remembering that the skin’s pH is acidic,
around 5.0, and all water is slightly alkaline, especially if there
are many calcium and magnesium salts in it, it is easy to see how
this happens. Cessation of bathing and showering for a while is
necessary to clear the skin of these unfortunate patients. An
alkaline skin is increasingly susceptible to the irritant effects of
water alone, and the hyperirritability of the skin can be protracted;
it takes 3 months for a fracture to heal, similarly with the skin.
The skin must be put at rest and allowed lubrication for that length
of time before it recovers.
The usual result of continuous and excessive exposure of the skin to
soaps and detergents is impaired alkaline- neutralization with
drying, fisssuring and defatting of the keratin layer leading ot
increased permeability of comparatively innocuous substances (e.g.,
vegetable juices) can lead to senstitization with resultant allergic
contact dermatitis subsequent to the original primary irritant
effect. It can be almost self-sustaining, and many laundry soaps
contain chemical additives which are the actual irritants (e.g.,
sodium silicate, sodium phosphate, sodium carbonate). Hand cleaner
soaps contain small harsh particles to assist in grease removal, such
as pumice, talc, borax, corn meal or wood fluor. These are sometimes
irritating. Some yellow laundry soaps contain "rosin" to make the bar
more soluble, which is also a sensitizer.