YUTAKA TAKAGI*,
NORIYUKI TANAKA, MASAHIRO MIYAKI,
KATSUHIKO TAKEUCHI, KEIKO MATSUO
*Corresponding author
Kao Corporation, Skin Care Products Research Laboratories, 2-1-3-Bunka,
Sumida-ku, Tokyo 131-8501, Japan

Abstract

Many people suffer from acne. Washing the face with cleansers is generally recommended for acne care and cleansers containing salicylic acid are frequently used in the United States. However, salicylic acid has many side effects such as inducing dryness and irritation. Here we demonstrate that a facial cleanser based on alkyl ether carboxylates (AEC) and sodium laureth sulfate (SLES), which does not contain any anti-acne ingredients including salicylic acid, improved the acne more quickly than general cleansers containing salicylic acid (≈1.5%). No side effects were observed and a favorability rating was obtained from the subjects in a questionnaire. These results suggest that the skin cleanser formulated with AEC and SLES is an effective cleanser for the care of mild acne.

INTRODUCTION

Acne is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease, which develops in sebaceous glands of Trousseau areas including the face, neck, back and chest (1). The major pathogenic factors of acne are the abnormal keratinization of hair follicles, the abnormal metabolism of sebum, sebaceous hyperproliferation and increased numbers of microbes and/or inflammation (2-4). Acne and acne scars have a major impact on appearance, self-consciousness, annoyance, and so on (5).
The basic therapeutic strategies for acne care are the control of sebum secretion, cornification of keratinocytes in hair follicles and bactericidal agents. Topical and/or oral application of anti-inflammatory, bactericidal and keratinization control agents have been used for acne care (6-9). Washing the face with cleansers is recommended (7, 9-12). As long term treatment is necessary for acne, many patients may quit the treatment, but facial washing is a daily custom and it is easy to keep treating the skin in that manner. Thus, the selection of a facial cleanser is very important to care for acne correctly. Generally, facial cleansers for acne treatment have ingredients such ...