DEPOSITION OF HEXACHLOROPHENE ON SKIN 535 (a) Raising the concentration of hexachlorophene in the soap (b) Increasing the number of washes (c) Increasing the amount of soap applied during a single wash There was no evidence indicating selective adsorption of hexachloro- phene onto the skin, and no plateau levels were attained in any of these tests. In many' instances the quantity retained varied roughly in direct proportion to the concentration in the soap or bath. Bath tests indi- cated no exhaustion of hexachlorophene from the bath, and it appeared that deposition depended on the wet pickup of the skin. Therefore, it is suggested that the deposition of hexachlorophene is due to its physical entrapment on the skin. It is probably retained both as individual particles and solubilized in the soap left on the skin after washing. The relationship between the quantity of hexachlorophene and the number of microorganisms present on the skin has often been implied but never directly studied. Information on this subject could be ob- tained in washing tests using the hands for bacterial counts and alcohol extractions of the arms for chemical analysis. It has been assumed during hand washing studies that the hexachlorophene content on a subject's hand is built up to effective antimicrobial levels after several days of washing with the hexachlorophene-containing soap. However, the quantity deposited is dependent on the quantity applied, which in turn will vary with the individual washing habits of the test subjects. Therefore, closer control of the mechanics of the washing process in tests with antimicrobial soaps would be in order. These studies would be accelerated by depositing large concentrations of the compound on the skin immediately through the use of a five to ten minute initial wash with continual reapplication of the test soap. (Received November 30, 1966) REFERENCES (1) Sindar Corp., G-ll (Hexachlorophene USP) an annotated bibliography, Tech. Bull. H-1 (1965). (2) Cade, A. R., and Gump, W. S., in Reddish, G. F., Antiseptics, Disinfectants, Fungicities, and Chemical and •Physical Sterilization, Lea & Febiger, Philadelphia, Pa., 1957, pp. 319-354. (3) Fahlberg, W. J., Swan, J. C., and Seastone, C. V., Studies on the retention of hexachloro- phene (G-11) in human skin, J. Bact., 56, 323--328 (1948). (4) Shemano, I., and Nickerson, M., Cutaneous accumulation and retention of hexachloro- phene --C TM (G-11), Federation •øroc., 13, Part 1,405 (1954). (5) Compeau, G. M., The adsorption of dodecylbenzenesulfonate and hexachlorophene on the skin, J. •Pharm. Sci., 49,574-580 (1960).

JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS (6) Johnson, C. A., and Savidge, R. A., The determination of phenolic compounds in pharma- ceutical preparations using 4-aminophenazone, J. Pharm. fie Pharmacol., 10, 171 T-181 T (1968). (7) Gottlieb, S., and Marsh, P. B., Quantitative determination of phenolie fungitides, Anal. Chem., 18, 16-19 (1946). (8) Sindar Corp., Methods of analysis for the quantitative determination of G-11, Tech. Bull. (9) Parran, J. J., Deposition on the skin of particles of antimicrobial agents from detergent bases, J. Invest. Dermatol., 45• 86-88 (1965).