Today’s marketplace is flooded with various types of personal cleansing products that are sold in mass retailers and at prestige stores.
These products are often part of a comprehensive beauty package and are not only made by large companies, but also by independent suppliers.
New forms of cleansers are designed to provide consumers with more convenient and effective ways to cleanse their skin. So what is a personal cleanser?
Personal Cleanser is a no-rinse, antimicrobial skin cleanser that can be used on the perineum area and other body parts. It removes dead skin cells and other body fluids.
They also contain a variety of functional and therapeutic ingredients that can help them improve their appearance and feel better about themselves. Despite their increased complexity, these products still have the same basic function.
What Does a Facial Cleanser Do For Your Face?
Skin cleanser that’s ideal for all skin types, including sensitive skin, is formulated with zinc oxide and benzethonium chloride to kill bacteria and prevent them from spreading. It can also help control odor.
Even if you don’t usually wash your face at least once a day, it’s still important to maintain a consistent routine. For people with combination or oily skin, two daily washes are ideal.
Related: How Can I Take Care Of My Oily Skin Naturally?
Difference Between Face Wash and Face Cleanser
A face cleanser is designed to remove makeup and impurities from your skin. It’s usually a creamy or gel-like consistency, and it can be used to clean your face. On the other hand, a face wash is intended to deep clean your skin. Its texture can be either a foam or a creamy.
It’s important to think about the terms “cleanse” and “wash” when it comes to applying products. The former suggests a more gentle approach, while the latter is more no-fuss.
It’s also important to note that the term “cleansers” has become fashionable, as it sounds more upscale. To be safe, choose a product that’s either a foam or a creamy consistency.
Soil Removal Using Personal Cleanser
A good facial cleanser is the first step to a comprehensive skincare regimen. It removes dead skin cells and other debris from the surface of the skin, leaving it feeling fresh and clean. It can also help nourish and tone the skin.
A facial cleanser is a type of product that removes dead skin cells and other impurities from the surface of the skin, keeping it clean and clear. It can also help prevent acne and other skin conditions.
Understanding Hydrolipid
The skin’s hydrolipid film is covered with a variety of secretions from the eccrine and apocrine sweat glands. It also contains deconsolidation products from the cellular debris and corneum lipid processes.
The hydrolipid film helps keep the skin’s surface clean and prevents it from getting contaminated by water. It also functions as a natural defense against harmful organisms. However, it can also attract and hold pollutants from the environment.
In most cases, the organisms that live on the surface of the hydrolipid film are harmless. However, they can also create by-products, such as body odor. These organisms can also act on the surface film’s components, which can lead to the development of foul odor.
Regular Cleansing Helps Remove Soil
Although the hydrolipid film is an essential part of the skin’s overall health, it is also regularly cleaned to remove dirt, debris, and odor. Doing so can help maintain the skin’s social and health acceptance. Aside from dirt, regular cleansing also helps remove the soil that can be acquired from the skin’s surface by improper application or incidental contact.
Can Water Remove Soil from Skin?
Water can remove most of the soil from the surface of the skin, but it can’t completely remove oils. To get the most out of the water, most personal cleansing products use a combination of water and a surface-active agent, which helps remove dirt and oils from the skin.
A surfactant can increase the bond strength of different phases through its unique structure. This property is based on the combination of the hydrophobic and hydrophilic elements at the ends of the molecule. In a dilute solution, the molecules will arrange themselves so that the latter portion of the molecule will be toward the bulk solution while the former portion will be toward the center.
When water comes in contact with the skin, the presence of a surfactant at the interface can help improve the water’s ability to spread across the surface of the skin. This is because the presence of a surfactant can help decrease the interfacial tension and aid in wetting. As the concentration of the liquid increases, the molecules will start to form a micellar structure.
Types of Surfactants Commonly Used In Personal Cleansers
While some new technologies can help improve skin conditions, the majority of personal cleansing tools remain focused on minimizing the damage that can be caused by exposure to harmful chemicals. Surfactants are the main ingredients in most personal cleansing products.
Various types of surfactants are amphiphilic. They can be distinguished from one another by their behavior in water.
Anionic Surfactants
Anionic surfactants are water-soluble compounds that are produced by separating a cation and a negatively charged hydrophilic group in the water. They are commonly used in various personal cleansing products.
Although soap is the most commonly used anionic surfactant, there are also various synthetic anionic surfactants that can be used in personal cleansing products. These include acyl isethionates and alkyl sulfates. Acyl isethionates are known to have good skin compatibility and can be used in various types of detergents and lime soap.
Alkyl isethionate is a common primary anionic surfactant in mild cleansers. Alkyl sulfates are also commonly used in various cosmetics, such as toothpaste and skin cleansers. Although they have good foam-forming properties, they do not perform well in hard water.
Alkyl sulfates hurt the skin. This is why they are often used in personal care products. One of these is sodium lauryl sulfate, which is commonly used as a model anionic surfactant.
This type of anionic surfactant has various advantages over alkyl sulfates. It allows for better lather formation and better dispersion of hard water. It also has less irritating properties and is more skin-friendly. One of the most common types of anionic surfactants is sodium Laureth sulfate.
Cationic Surfactants
These are water-soluble compounds that are designed to produce a surfactant with a positively charged anion and a neutral charged group. Some of these include fatty amines and ammonium salts.
These compounds can be used as antistatic agents by adsorbing to biological surfaces. Their positive anion allows them to repel statics, which is useful in hair conditioning products. However, quaternary ammonium compounds have antibacterial properties, which are commonly used in various personal care products.
Nonionic Surfactants
Nonionic surfactants do not contain water. Instead, they are composed of a group of compounds that are commonly composed of alcohol, phenol, or other hydrocarbons. Examples of these include alkyl phenol ethoxylates and alcohol ethoxylates. A new class of nonionic surfactants is also known to have these properties.
Nonionic surfactants are compatible with other types of surfactants due to their uncharged nature. They also have reduced sensitivity to certain conditions, such as water hardness and salinity. Some examples of these include sorbitan esters and ethoxylated versions of a tween.
Despite their good skin compatibility, nonionic surfactants can still interact with and negatively affect the stratum corneum.
Amphoteric Surfactants
The functional groups of certain types of surfactants are composed of one or two anionic and one cationic group. Their pH is determined by the conditions under which they are produced. Amphoteric surfactants are those that are under acidic conditions, while cationic are those that are near their isoelectric point.
One of the most commonly used amphoteric surfactants is betaine, which is a positive charge that can be found in both acidic and alkaline media. It can be used to improve the quality of lather and increase the viscosity of liquid cleansers.
Although betaines have good skin compatibility, they can also irritate when combined with harsher anionic surfactants. This is why it is important to note that they are not always used in combination with other amphoteric surfactants. In 2004, Cocamidopropyl betaine was named the contact allergen of the year.
The use of betaines in personal care products has low incidences of allergic reactions. Manufacturers can reduce the risk of contact allergies by using a higher-grade betaine material. According to studies, the allergic response is triggered by the impurities in the product rather than by the betaine itself.
How to Choose A Personal Cleanser
The multitude of choices that consumers and dermatologists have when it comes to choosing a personal cleansing product can be overwhelming. Below you will see the factors that influence the interaction between the skin and the chemicals used in the product.
Although many studies were not performed under in-use conditions, they show that personal cleansers can have various effects on the skin.
Facial Cleansing
Most people need to have a facial cleansing regularly to maintain their appearance. Aside from being a vital part of social interaction, the face is also a prime site for the accumulation of foreign and native soils. The size and density of the sebaceous glands are most apparent on the upper back, chest, and face.
The secretion from these glands helps in trapping environmental pollutants on the skin surface. However, while it’s important to maintain a clean and healthy appearance, it’s also possible to argue against excessive cleansing.
The facial stratum corneum is also thinner than other parts of the body, which could increase the risk of getting allergic reactions. The face is also known to be associated with sensitive skin, which is a condition that’s usually triggered by environmental factors.
This condition, which is characterized by the lack of a proper barrier between the skin and the stratum corneum, affects about 50% of women. It can be treated through a skincare regimen. The facial skin is also sensitive, so sensations such as tightness and tingling can easily be noticed.
A study conducted by de Groot revealed that the face is more prone to experiencing adverse effects from cosmetic products than other parts of the body. Both men and women identified cleansers as the most common agents of these reactions.
Body Cleansing
There are a variety of cleansing forms available for the body, but the range of ingredients used in these products is not as varied as for the face. For instance, soap is a popular cleanser that has been around since antiquity, despite the negative press it has received due to the introduction of syndets.
Despite the negative press about its effects on the skin, soap is still an effective and economical alternative to face wash. Numerous studies have shown that its effects on the skin are limited in normal use.
Unfortunately, there are still studies that suggest that soap can negatively affect the skin. For instance, it can be harmful to the development of certain skin conditions such as acne. While some studies claim that soap can help treat atopic dermatitis, other products can be used instead.
For patients who prefer a bar form of cleansing, syndet cleansing bars are usually well-tolerated and can provide a good cleansing experience. For those who prefer a liquid form of cleansing, a product known as a liquid cleanser can be used. This type of product deposits petrolatum on the skin and can help remove dead cells. Another benefit of this type of cleansing is that it can help remove the buildup of dead skin cells.
