MOISTURIZING EFFECT OF TOPICAL COSMETIC PRODUCTS 335 ointment base, the occlusion effect disappeared after 1 h of application to the skin, which for Scholl® occurred after 3 h of the cream’s action. Statistical results from comparing the tested CP with the ointment base at each time interval (signifi cance p ≤ 0.05) were found and identifi ed as * in Table II. COMPARISON OF THE HYDRATION EFFECT OF CP WITH THE DECLARED CONTENT OF 10% UREA Furthermore, two different CPs with the declared content of 10% urea were subject to comparison for the effect of hydration, including Eucerin® and Allpresan®, and investi- gated corneometrically. Both of the products contained other active moisturizing agents. F-tests were carried out to discern the effects of these two products against the control untreated area. For Eucerin®, increased hydration was shown to be signifi cant at time Figure 3. The occlusive fi lm of the Scholl® cream (image captured on a Visioscope). Figure 4. TEWL after the application of CP monitored and the ointment base.

Table II TEWL for the Tested CP and the Ointment Base: Mean Value (N = 22) TEWL (g/m2/h1) TEWL (g/m2/h1) differences vs control Time to action of the CP (h) 0 1 2 3 4 24 25 26 0 1 2 3 4 24 25 26 Control 15.3 11.9 12.8 10.8* 13.6* 12.5 13.6* 11.3* — — — — — — — — Beline ® 10.8 9.3* 9.6 8.8 8.9 8.7 10.1* 9.7* −4.6 −2.6 −3.2 −2.0 −4.7 −3.8 −3.5 −1.7 Ziaja ® 11.1 9.0* 9.3 9.5 9.1 9.4 10.5* 10.4* −4.2 −2.9 −3.5 −1.3 −4.5 −3.1 −3.1 −0.9 Eucerin® 12.9 7.9* 10.1 9.2 9.8 10.0 11.1* 10.3* −2.4 −4.0 −2.7 −1.5 −3.7 −2.5 −2.5 −1.0 Allpresan ® 10.6 8.2* 9.0 9.1 8.9 9.8 9.9* 9.5* −4.7 −3.7 −3.8 −1.7 −4.6 −2.7 −3.8 −1.9 DiabeCare ® 9.5 8.4* 8.4 8.7 8.7 9.4 9.9* 9.4* −5.8 −3.5 −4.4 −2.0 −4.9 −3.1 −3.7 −1.9 Scholl ® 11.3 12.9 11.4 11.5* 11.4* 10.5 11.1* 11.4* −4.0 1.0 −1.4 0.8 −2.1 −2.0 −2.5 0.1 Ointment base 13.2 13.2 11.6 8.4 8.0 9.8 6.9 7.2 −2.1 1.3 −1.2 −2.3 −5.6 −2.8 −6.7 −4.1 The statistical results of comparisons of test products by measurement times have been presented. *Signifi cance (vs ointment base) p ≤ 0.05 all other results are non- signifi cant SD for all the results ranged within limits ± 8.5%. JOURNAL OF COSMETIC SCIENCE 336