In-use evaluation of safety to skin of enzyme-containing washing products.

The effect on the skin of housewives of using a washing product in the home for all cleaning purposes under conditions of maximal exposure has been studied. Tests conducted on over 4,000 housewives showed that detergents containing proteolytic enzymes had no greater effect on the skin than conventional detergents, even when the hand skin condition was initially poor. The same was true in a further test on 130 housewives with "dishpan" hands. No adverse reactions attributable specifically to the enzyme products were seen. No eruptions from contact with clothes washed in enzyme products were reported from any of the families involved in these tests.