Despite the need for surfactants in everyday life, most
surfactants elicit irritant skin reactions, which have
been recognized since the problem of soap irritations
was first reported (for review, see Blank”). For this
reason, the effects of surfactants on the skin have been
extensively studied under in vitro and in vivo conditions.“-
15 As a result, it was shown that surfactants
induced biochemical changes of the skin when applied
topically. Since then, surfactants have become widely
used model irritants in the investigation of skin irritation.‘
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