Patent Pick: Holding Out on Hydration

Occupational contact dermatitis (OCD) is a persistent and prevalent skin problem caused by contact with water, detergents, soaps, solvents, food, oils, etc. Typical symptoms range from redness and edema, to thickening of the skin, hyperkeratosis, scaling and more. Furthermore, itching, burning and cracks are common complaints.

According to Kimberly-Clark inventors, to treat this OCD skin condition, what's needed is a formula that imparts a very hydrophobic film on skin to protect against excessive hydration while supporting a low solids content and acceptable consumer aesthetics. This was the focus of a recent patent application:

Skin-protective emulsions
WIPO Patent Application WO/2016/106333
Publication date: June 30, 2016
Assignee: Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc.

This disclosure describes o/w emulsions that provide said hydrophobic film. Specifically, one example includes a water concentration > 70% w/w, a plurality of w/o emulsifiers, a base oil, an o/w emulsifier, and a film-forming polymer.

According to the inventors, the hydrophobic or occlusive properties of a particular formulation may be determined by measuring water vapor transport rate (wVTR) and contact angle. The base oil in this example has a wVTR of about 1.0 to 30 g/m²/hr, at a concentration of no more than 15% w/w of the overall emulsion.