Skin moisturization and frictional effects of an emollient-treated menstrual pad with a foam core

Abstract

The emollient-transfer and frictional effects of a new, emollient-treated menstrual pad were studied to examine potential skin moisturization. When pads were applied for 6 hours to the popliteal fossa (behind-the knee [BTK] test), 79 μg of emollient per cm² was transferred from the pad surface. When swiped across forearm skin in a controlled fashion, the emollient-treated pads, but not the conventional pads, caused a rise in the coefficient of skin friction, indirect evidence of skin moisturization. When irritant and sensory effects were assessed in the BTK protocol, the test pad was comparable with the commercial product currently considered to be “best-in-class” for softness.

Keywords::

• Sanitary pads
• menstrual pads
• absorbent foam
• polyacrylate foam
• emollient
• topsheet finish
• mechanical irritation
• skin moisturization
• behind-the-knee test
• skin friction meter

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge Drs. Kenneth W. Miller and Mario Bramante for their technical review, Michaelle Jones, MSc, Procter & Gamble, for statistical data analysis, and Deborah Hutchins, PhD, ELS, of Hutchins & Associates, LLC, Cincinnati, OH, for technical assistance.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the final content of the paper.