Topical Antioxidant Soothes Shaving Irritation

MIAMI — A topical tocopheryl phosphate complex effectively reduced problems associated with sensitive skin and shaving-induced irritation in a study of 28 Hispanic, Asian, and other participants.

Tocopheryl phosphate occurs naturally and is found in many animal and plant species, Roger McMullen, Ph.D., said at an international symposium sponsored by L'Oréal Institute for Ethnic Hair and Skin Research.

The livers of rats, guinea pigs, and chickens, and the adipose tissue of guinea pigs, rats, and humans contain tocopheryl phosphate. It is also found in wheat germ oil, butter, cheddar cheese, olive oil, and chocolate, said Dr. McMullen, a researcher at International Specialty Products in Wayne, N.J.

Researchers studied a lipophilic tocopheryl phosphate complex (Vital ET, International Specialty Products) for relief of sensitive and/or irritated skin since it had demonstrated efficacy in previous studies.

Tocopheryl phosphate inhibited inflammatory and proliferative pathways in previous animal studies.

The substance "also provides protection against oxidative stress, but not through a free radical scavenging mechanism," said Dr. McMullen, who presented findings of the current study on behalf of David J. Moore, Ph.D., a senior science fellow at International Specialty Products.

There are many skin care products on the global market that contain Vital ET, Dr. Moore said in an interview after the meeting.

The researchers assessed the ability of the lipophilic tocopheryl phosphate complex to relieve symptoms of skin sensitive to shaving in Hispanic, Asian, and other study participants.

They applied a balm containing 2% tocopheryl phosphate once daily for 4 weeks. There were 13 men who shaved their faces daily and 15 women who shaved their legs every other day. There were four Hispanic and seven Asian participants.

Erythema, folliculitis, tactile roughness, dryness, skin clarity, and nicks and cuts were clinically graded at baseline. A board-certified dermatologist then rated these parameters at week 2 and week 4. Participants also scored any burning, stinging, itching, or tightness.

"All objective and subjective graded parameters of irritated or sensitive skin were significantly improved compared to baseline. The very significant efficacy for all clinically graded parameters at 2 and 4 weeks … was delivered in a real skin care formulation," Dr. McMullen said at the meeting, which was also sponsored by Howard University.

"We were not surprised, as this was our third clinical study with Vital ET and both previous studies had demonstrated significant efficacy in mitigating skin irritation," Dr. Moore said.

The previous research involved treatment of UV-induced erythema or acne with the product applied in a simple gel formulation, he noted.

In the current study, erythema improved from a mean score of 5 at baseline to a mean of 2 after 2 weeks and a mean of 1 after 4 weeks. These improvements were observed in all study participants, said Dr. McMullen.

Similarly, improvements in skin clarity were observed at 2 weeks and 4 weeks, compared with baseline, in all participants. In addition, "there was a big drop in folliculitis from baseline to 2 weeks," he said.

"We are currently conducting human ex vivo skin studies at ISP Global Skin Research in Nice, France, to further understand the biologic activity of Vital ET in skin," Dr. Moore said. Researchers are assessing its protective effect on Langerhans cells and its role in protecting the skin from glycation stress.

"After this work is complete, we expect to conduct further human clinical studies," he said.

An Asian patient with shaving-induced irritation is shown before using a skin balm containing tocopheryl phosphate complex.

The patient is shown 2 weeks after daily treatment with the skin care formulation. Skin improvements were observed in all study patients. Photos courtesy Dr. David J. Moore

MIAMI — A topical tocopheryl phosphate complex effectively reduced problems associated with sensitive skin and shaving-induced irritation in a study of 28 Hispanic, Asian, and other participants.

Tocopheryl phosphate occurs naturally and is found in many animal and plant species, Roger McMullen, Ph.D., said at an international symposium sponsored by L'Oréal Institute for Ethnic Hair and Skin Research.

The livers of rats, guinea pigs, and chickens, and the adipose tissue of guinea pigs, rats, and humans contain tocopheryl phosphate. It is also found in wheat germ oil, butter, cheddar cheese, olive oil, and chocolate, said Dr. McMullen, a researcher at International Specialty Products in Wayne, N.J.

Researchers studied a lipophilic tocopheryl phosphate complex (Vital ET, International Specialty Products) for relief of sensitive and/or irritated skin since it had demonstrated efficacy in previous studies.

Tocopheryl phosphate inhibited inflammatory and proliferative pathways in previous animal studies.

The substance "also provides protection against oxidative stress, but not through a free radical scavenging mechanism," said Dr. McMullen, who presented findings of the current study on behalf of David J. Moore, Ph.D., a senior science fellow at International Specialty Products.

There are many skin care products on the global market that contain Vital ET, Dr. Moore said in an interview after the meeting.

The researchers assessed the ability of the lipophilic tocopheryl phosphate complex to relieve symptoms of skin sensitive to shaving in Hispanic, Asian, and other study participants.

They applied a balm containing 2% tocopheryl phosphate once daily for 4 weeks. There were 13 men who shaved their faces daily and 15 women who shaved their legs every other day. There were four Hispanic and seven Asian participants.

Erythema, folliculitis, tactile roughness, dryness, skin clarity, and nicks and cuts were clinically graded at baseline. A board-certified dermatologist then rated these parameters at week 2 and week 4. Participants also scored any burning, stinging, itching, or tightness.

"All objective and subjective graded parameters of irritated or sensitive skin were significantly improved compared to baseline. The very significant efficacy for all clinically graded parameters at 2 and 4 weeks … was delivered in a real skin care formulation," Dr. McMullen said at the meeting, which was also sponsored by Howard University.

"We were not surprised, as this was our third clinical study with Vital ET and both previous studies had demonstrated significant efficacy in mitigating skin irritation," Dr. Moore said.

The previous research involved treatment of UV-induced erythema or acne with the product applied in a simple gel formulation, he noted.

In the current study, erythema improved from a mean score of 5 at baseline to a mean of 2 after 2 weeks and a mean of 1 after 4 weeks. These improvements were observed in all study participants, said Dr. McMullen.

Similarly, improvements in skin clarity were observed at 2 weeks and 4 weeks, compared with baseline, in all participants. In addition, "there was a big drop in folliculitis from baseline to 2 weeks," he said.

"We are currently conducting human ex vivo skin studies at ISP Global Skin Research in Nice, France, to further understand the biologic activity of Vital ET in skin," Dr. Moore said. Researchers are assessing its protective effect on Langerhans cells and its role in protecting the skin from glycation stress.

"After this work is complete, we expect to conduct further human clinical studies," he said.

An Asian patient with shaving-induced irritation is shown before using a skin balm containing tocopheryl phosphate complex.

The patient is shown 2 weeks after daily treatment with the skin care formulation. Skin improvements were observed in all study patients. Photos courtesy Dr. David J. Moore

MIAMI — A topical tocopheryl phosphate complex effectively reduced problems associated with sensitive skin and shaving-induced irritation in a study of 28 Hispanic, Asian, and other participants.

Tocopheryl phosphate occurs naturally and is found in many animal and plant species, Roger McMullen, Ph.D., said at an international symposium sponsored by L'Oréal Institute for Ethnic Hair and Skin Research.

The livers of rats, guinea pigs, and chickens, and the adipose tissue of guinea pigs, rats, and humans contain tocopheryl phosphate. It is also found in wheat germ oil, butter, cheddar cheese, olive oil, and chocolate, said Dr. McMullen, a researcher at International Specialty Products in Wayne, N.J.

Researchers studied a lipophilic tocopheryl phosphate complex (Vital ET, International Specialty Products) for relief of sensitive and/or irritated skin since it had demonstrated efficacy in previous studies.

Tocopheryl phosphate inhibited inflammatory and proliferative pathways in previous animal studies.

The substance "also provides protection against oxidative stress, but not through a free radical scavenging mechanism," said Dr. McMullen, who presented findings of the current study on behalf of David J. Moore, Ph.D., a senior science fellow at International Specialty Products.

There are many skin care products on the global market that contain Vital ET, Dr. Moore said in an interview after the meeting.

The researchers assessed the ability of the lipophilic tocopheryl phosphate complex to relieve symptoms of skin sensitive to shaving in Hispanic, Asian, and other study participants.

They applied a balm containing 2% tocopheryl phosphate once daily for 4 weeks. There were 13 men who shaved their faces daily and 15 women who shaved their legs every other day. There were four Hispanic and seven Asian participants.

Erythema, folliculitis, tactile roughness, dryness, skin clarity, and nicks and cuts were clinically graded at baseline. A board-certified dermatologist then rated these parameters at week 2 and week 4. Participants also scored any burning, stinging, itching, or tightness.

"All objective and subjective graded parameters of irritated or sensitive skin were significantly improved compared to baseline. The very significant efficacy for all clinically graded parameters at 2 and 4 weeks … was delivered in a real skin care formulation," Dr. McMullen said at the meeting, which was also sponsored by Howard University.

"We were not surprised, as this was our third clinical study with Vital ET and both previous studies had demonstrated significant efficacy in mitigating skin irritation," Dr. Moore said.

The previous research involved treatment of UV-induced erythema or acne with the product applied in a simple gel formulation, he noted.

In the current study, erythema improved from a mean score of 5 at baseline to a mean of 2 after 2 weeks and a mean of 1 after 4 weeks. These improvements were observed in all study participants, said Dr. McMullen.

Similarly, improvements in skin clarity were observed at 2 weeks and 4 weeks, compared with baseline, in all participants. In addition, "there was a big drop in folliculitis from baseline to 2 weeks," he said.

"We are currently conducting human ex vivo skin studies at ISP Global Skin Research in Nice, France, to further understand the biologic activity of Vital ET in skin," Dr. Moore said. Researchers are assessing its protective effect on Langerhans cells and its role in protecting the skin from glycation stress.

"After this work is complete, we expect to conduct further human clinical studies," he said.

An Asian patient with shaving-induced irritation is shown before using a skin balm containing tocopheryl phosphate complex.

The patient is shown 2 weeks after daily treatment with the skin care formulation. Skin improvements were observed in all study patients. Photos courtesy Dr. David J. Moore