4th November 2020, Southampton UK – Oat Cosmetics has released advanced new data demonstrating the exceptional capacity of aurafirm P, Oat COM, and Oat Lipid e – three top-tier oat-derived cosmetic ingredients – to repair skin following excessive handwashing.
The data launches in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, at a time when consumers are experiencing increased skin irritation and dryness as a result of the more regular handwashing being undertaken in an effort to reduce the spread of the virus.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, maintaining good hand hygiene through effective handwashing has been deemed of crucial importance. The common thread in the advice issued thus far has been to wash hands both more regularly and more thoroughly, usually for at least 20 seconds with soap and water. Whilst this measure has been vital to reduce the spread of the virus, it has had negative effects on the hands, often leaving them red and sore. The deterioration of the skin’s appearance as a result of excessive handwashing can be attributed to the fact that significant water and cleanser exposure rids the skin of its protective lipid barrier. This lipid barrier acts to minimise trans-epidermal water loss, keeping skin supple and comfortable. Without this protective barrier, the skin will likely display signs of irritation, and thus a deeply reparative cream that works to replenish lipids will be needed to restore hands to their optimal condition.
The fact that oats are known for their skin protectant properties, and contain a specific molecule which serves to repair a disrupted lipid barrier, has long inferred their suitability for use in any cream designed to alleviate the effects of increased handwashing. In seeking to confirm this hypothesis, Oat Cosmetics recently conducted a series of trials which set out to assess the ability of three ingredients – Oat COM, an advanced colloidal oatmeal; Oat Lipid e, a ceramide-rich oat oil; and aurafirm P, a fermented oat active – to repair skin following excessive handwashing, and the results are outstanding.
In the trials, which compared a hand cream containing Oat COM, Oat Lipid e, or aurafirm P with a placebo cream, it was in part found that:
- 100% of volunteers agreed that applying Oat Lipid e improves moisturisation of the hands, compared to only 80% when using the placebo.
- 94% of volunteers reported that their hands felt less irritated after using Oat COM, compared to just 77% after using the placebo.
- 100% of volunteers noted that their hands felt more soothed applying aurafirm P, 26% more than after using the placebo.
The results of the study prove the exceptional capacity of oat-derived ingredients to repair the skin following excessive handwashing: working to improve moisturisation, alleviate signs of redness and irritation, and soothe the skin among other benefits. In view of this impressive new data, Angus Robertson, Head of Sales at Oat Cosmetics commented:
“Having observed an increase in demand for skin-soothing hand care products through the course of the year, I am delighted to see the release of this extensive data set which so clearly demonstrates the efficacy of our ingredients within this particular application. The results of the trials are excellent across the board and are yet more evidence to the fact that oat-derived ingredients are an ideal remedy for the severe dryness and irritation experienced by many as a result of more thorough handwashing”.
To download the latest datapacks for Oat COM, Oat Lipid e and aurafirm P, and to gain access to the handwashing trial results in full, head to the product pages on oatcosmetics.com. For any queries regarding this noteworthy new release, please email info@oatcosmetics.com or give the Oat team a call on +44 (0)2380 767228.
