300 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS (10) Krieger, I. M., and Maron, S. H., y./Ipp/iedPhys., 23, 147 (1952). (11• Cram, K. H., and Whirwell, J. C., Ibid., 26,613 (1955). (12) Mooney, M., and Ewart, R. H., Physics, 5,350 (1934). (13) Pochetino, A., Nuovo Cimento, 8, 77 (1914). (14) Bergen, J. T., Patterson, W., Jr., y./IppliedPhys., 24, 712 (1953). (15) Wachholtz, F., Asbeck, W. K., Kol/oid-Z., 93, 280 (1940) ibid., 94, 66 (1941). (16) Asbeck, W. K., to be published. (17) Merrill. E., y. ColloidSc% 9, 7 (1954), (18) Asbeck, W. K., l,aiderman, D. D., and VanLoo, M., ibid., 7, 306 (1952). FUNDAMENTAL AND COMPARATIVE ACTIONS OF CLEANSING CREAMS* By ALBERT R. LATVEN Pharmacology Research, :Inc., Darby, Pa. ALTHOUGH CLEANSING creams are purported to produce a number of beneficial effects upon the skin, their primary effect and fundamental use is as cleansing agents. The nature of this cleansing action has not been clear particularly in view of the fact that plain soaps are said to be equally effective in removing dirt and other foreign matter from the surface of the skin. However, since it is unlikely that cleansing cosmetic preparations would have received continued use for centuries in the absence of superior cleansing action, the cosmetic chemist has justly accepted the presence of superior cleansing properties and has formulated his products more or less on an empirical basis. It is the purpose of this paper to present hith- erto unreported observations concerning the effects of cleansing creams and other products upon a specific type of natural skin soil, namely, upon sebum which has solidified in the form of "plaques" over the sebaceous or pilosebaceous orifices. The studies to be presented are preliminary in character and have been conducted as a matter of experimental orienta- tion it is hoped that the findings may serve as a guide to the refinement of less subjective techniques. While pursuing studies along unrelated lines, we confirmed the pub- ]ished observation that the sebum lying in the exit of the sebaceous duct fluoresces white to yellow or orange when illuminated by filtered ultra- violet light. However, we also observed that the majority of the yellow and orange fluorescent points consisted of sebum which had solidified in the form of a "cap" loosely covering, but nevertheless adhered to, the sur- face opening of the sebaceous gland. These caps, or plaques, could be pried loose with a sharp instrument such as a scalpel or razor blade and * Presented at the May 10, 1957, Meeting, New York City.

FUNDAMENTAL, COMPARATIVE ACTIONS OF CLEANSING CREAMS 301 were surprisingly resistant to removal by scrubbing with soap and water. They were not grossly apparent under ordinary conditions of illumination. Although present over most of the body surface, these sebal plaques were most numerous on protected areas such as the chest or back and on those areas subject to drying and cold such as the forehead, cheeks or chin. They have been consistently found to be present on the facial skin of men and much less frequently on the facial skin of women. (It is of further interest to note that solidified sebum was found in greater abundance on the facial skin of men who shave electrically than on those using lather and razor.) These sebal plaques have received scant attention in the published literature. Since their presence is incompatible with the presumed func- tions of sebum, the foregoing observations suggested the possibility that the efficacy of cleansing creams may lie in their ability to dislodge and re- move these plaques from the orifices of the sebaceous ducts initial ex- periments revealed such preparations to be more effective indeed than the common soap-and-water scrub. It was of interest therefore to determine if differences in the relative efficiencies of commercial preparations could be demonstrated and to further investigate the properties of some of the individual ingredients in the hope that the findings might confirm or shed light on the nature of the action of such cosmetic preparations. (It should be emphasized that the studies which follow were concerned with the re- moval of sebal plaques and not with the removal of the surface lipid layer of sebum the latter is indisputably essential to the integrity of normal, healthy skin.) ]•X P E RIMEN'i'A L The skin of the normal female back was illuminated by filtered ultra- violet light (3600 Angsttoms) and individual sites were chosen for study based on the presence of evenly distributed fluorescent sebum deposits. Each of four commercial cleansing creams was then applied to a 2 X 2 cm. gauze swatch and secured to the experimental site with adhesive tape. After a contact time of fifty minutes, the swatches were removed and the areas wiped dry With cleansing tissue. The treated sites were then ex- amined for changes in the number of sebum deposits by comparison with adjacent hntreated areas and scored visually as follows: zero, no effect single plus, slight effect double plus, marked effect and triple plus, pro- nounced effect. Experiments were repeated at least five times using the cross-over experimental design with several subjects. The findings are presented in Table I and indicate that differences in efficiency, albeit minor in degree, could be detected by gross subjective observation among the four preparations. It should be mentioned that plaque removal could be accomplished in a