Application of sophorose lipid in baby care formulations

Baby skin should be addressed differently from adult skin as it is not fully developed and is easily irritated. Skin cleansing is necessary to remove dirt and excess sebum, to keep the skin hygienic and healthy, but it also removes important components that play a role in the barrier function, weakening it and damaging the stratum corneum.

Commercial baby products are usually made with synthetic detergents; however, the difficulty to be rinsed them off cause stress to babies or leave residual surfactants that irritate baby skin. Attention to the use of biosurfactant sophorose lipid (SL) is increasing because of its non-irritating, safe and easily rinsable properties, making it particularly useful in baby care formulations. As a continuation of our reported study last AOCS 2019※ , in place of synthetic detergents, this product development focused on finding the right combination of soap and SL for babies to gently remove dirt without leaving cleansing ingredients on the skin.

Characteristics of potassium fatty acid soaps with and without SL were investigated including the amount of soap scum produced followed by the measurement of rinsability and TEWL. Skin irritation test (OECD TG 439), human repeated insult patch test and sensory evaluation were also performed. The results showed that SL suppressed soap scum formation, improving rinsability and afterfeel. The TEWL was also decreased, improving skin moisture. High cell viability of the baby care formulation with SL in comparison to commercial products indicated that SL is non-irritating and safe, rendering it applicable and useful in baby care formulations.

※Quan, G.L. et al. (May 1, 2019). The combined effects of soaps and sophorolipids in the development of body wash for sensitive skin. AOCS Annual Meeting 2019, St. Louis, Mo, USA.