On March 6, 2026, Kao Corporation’s Skin Beauty 2 Products Research Team announced the development of a new cleansing technology that removes keratotic plugs from deep inside pores. The technology combines hydrophilic micropowders with the company’s proprietary Keratotic Plug Disintegrating and Cleansing (KPDC) tech, which uses tromethamine.
Keratotic plugs are most common on the nose when sebum production is higher, but they can be found anywhere on the face. They are composed of mainly solid fats and exfoliated stratum corneum, which become layered within the pore. This makes them difficult to remove by regular facial cleansing alone.
According to the company’s press release, the research team found that tromethamine combined with hydrophilic micropowders adhered to keratotic plugs, making them easier to disperse. The team believes this enables the tromethamine to reach further into the pores and remove the plugs embedded within.
Kao conducted a single-use face-cleansing test on 27 Japanese men and women aged 20 to 40 using a formulation with the KPDC technology. Photographs were taken before and after facial cleansing and the total area of detectable keratotic plugs was analyzed. According to the test results, the total keratotic plug area was reduced by approximately 20% on average after cleansing.
Kao also ran a single-use half-face-cleansing test on nine Japanese men and women, aged 20 to 30. Participants were given a formulation containing tromethamine and hydrophilic micropowders to apply to one half of the face and a control for the other half. Using 3D imaging of the nose, the researchers were able to analyze changes in the depths of pores. According to the company’s results, many pores exhibited a depth increase of 50 μm or more after cleansing when using the new technology.
“These findings suggest that, for consumers troubled by blackheads, facial cleansing with products using this technology may help minimize their appearance,” the company stated in a press release. “Kao will continue to research cleansing technologies tailored to the needs of consumers.”
