EFFECTS OF SOFTFNFD AND UNSOFTFNED FABRICS ON INFANT SKIN

Background. The effects of softened and unsoftened fabrics on the skin of infants of 1–12 months of age were evaluated under real life conditions of skin contact with fabrics. Methods. During 4 weeks, 24 infants wore cotton fabrics washed with a granular detergent on one side of their lower back, and on the other side, cotton fabrics washed with the same detergent and softened with a liquid fabric softener. Skin effects were evaluated by visual grading for redness, dryness, and smoothness, by skin stripping and measuring of Chroma C* (squamometry), by measurements of elasticity and bioelastic ratio, and by instrumental measurements of skin parameters (pH, capacitance, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), and erythema by colorimetry). Results. No deleterious effects were observed in any infant. A decrease in squamometry (Chroma C*) and an increase in capacitance were detected in skin exposed to softened fabrics relative to unsoftened ones. Values of pH tended to be higher in the sites treated with softened versus unsoftened fabrics (pH 6.06 and 5.87, respectively, at end of study). All other parameters showed no significant differences in the two treatment groups. Conclusions. Neither softened nor unsoftened fabrics produced any adverse effects on the skin of infants after continuous wearing during 29 days. A slight beneficial effect on the infants' skin was observed with softened relative to unsoftened fabrics. Methods measuring the structure and function of the stratum corneum were more sensitive discriminators of the effects of fabrics on the skin than traditional methods of visual clinical evaluation.