Development of a 14 Day Axillary Irritation Test

Abstract

A new test method for evaluating the relative irritancy of underarm products is presented. Using this technique, two test materials are applied once daily to the axillae of 12 subjects for 14 consecutive days. The irritation potentials are then assessed objectively by a trained grader using visual grading of erythema and subjectively from subject-rated questionnaires regarding burn, sting, and itch.

Using this methodology, statistically significant irritation differences in marketed underarm products have been demonstrated. An evaluation of an antiperspirant/deodorant solid and two deodorant gels demonstrated that the solid underarm product produced essentially no visible irritation while the gel products were moderately irritating, producing well-defined erythema. A gel underarm product under development was shown to have a lower objective and subjective irritation potential than a marketed gel product. This result was confirmed in large-scale consumer testing.