Ikuo Sugano

Real‐life use of underwear treated with fabric softeners improves skin dryness by decreasing the friction of fabrics against the skin

Scientific evaluation of fabric softener use on the friction of fabrics and on dry skin in real life is very limited. The coefficient of friction of fabrics was measured with a surface tester using model skin and cotton fabrics. The effects and safety of fabric softener‐treated T‐shirts on subjects with dry skin were evaluated in real‐life conditions in the cold and arid environment. Twenty male volunteers with dry skin used T‐shirts without softener for 1 week before day 0 and then wore softener‐treated T‐shirts for 14 days. Effects were evaluated by clinical grading, subjective symptoms, stratum corneum water content (SCWC) and transepidermal water loss (TEWL). A significant decrease in the coefficient of friction of fabrics was detected. A significant improvement in SCWC was observed on the torso, waist and shoulder, but no improvement was found on the inner forearm. There was a slight change in TEWL. The visual grading of dryness improved significantly at all sites, but no significant change was found in subjective symptoms. Our results suggest that fabric softener provides benefits to individuals with dry skin because of the decreased friction of the garments against the skin. It is possible that the softener treatment of fabrics contributes to the state of moisturization of the skin and may work in collaboration with the application of moisturizers.

Treatment of cloth with a fabric softener ameliorates skin dryness.

Dry skin is a condition characterized by impaired skin barrier function including atopic dermatitis and senile eczemas. Fabric softening chemicals (FSC) smoothens the surface of fabrics and thus decreases friction with the skin. Scientific evaluation of fabric softener on skin dryness is very limited. We evaluated the effectiveness and safety of FSC‐treated T‐shirts in subjects with dry skin. This is a randomized double‐blind control study that included 40 male volunteers with apparent dry skin. Subjects were randomly divided into two groups: 20 men received 28 pieces of FSC‐treated T‐shirts wearing them for 4 weeks, and another 20 men received non‐treated T‐shirts. The effect of trial was evaluated by visual grading, subjective symptom, stratum corneum water content (SCWC), transepidermal water loss (TEWL), and dermoscopic skin surface analysis on days 0, 7, 14 and 28. A significant improvement of SCWC was observed in the skin of the shoulder (days 7–28) and lateral abdomen (day 14) wearing the treated T‐shirts, but not in the non‐treated T‐shirts. In a stratified analysis of the low and high SCWC group, significant improvement was identified in the low SCWC groups but not in high SCWC groups. The visual grading of the shoulder improved significantly in the treated T‐shirts group. No significant improvement was found in TEWL, dermoscopic analysis and subjective symptom in both groups. No remarkable side‐effect was identified throughout this investigation. Addition of a fabric softener during clothes laundering is a potent preventive tool for dry skin.