RESEARCHERS from the University of Adelaide and the Royal Adelaide Hospital investigated the effects various moisturisers have on skin hydration and transepidermal water loss (TEWL) on scar activity, finding that cheaper products were among the best.
The team tested eight common moisturising products on normal skin in a scar model, with the aim of helping pharmacists and other health professionals make an informed recommendation for scar management.
“We tell recovering patients about the importance of massage, moisturising and using pressure garments,” explained study lead Tanja Klotz, an occupational therapist with the Royal Adelaide Hospital’s burns unit.
“There are evidence-based guidelines around best practice for massage and compression, but moisturiser is something that remains up to each clinician.
“We found that there was significant variability in the effectiveness of common moisturisers clinicians recommend for scar management.”
Eucerin Advanced Repair Cream, widely recommended by burn therapists in the US and available for purchase online, was rated best, significantly increasing hydration and normalising TEWL.
Sorbolene also ranked highly, showing notable improvements in both hydration and TEWL regulation.
Alhydran produced mixed results, effectively normalising TEWL but reducing hydration, while QV Skin Lotion increased hydration but had minimal impact on TEWL.
Aqueous Cream exhibited a non-significant trend toward TEWL normalisation, but there was a decrease in skin hydration.
Silicone gel sheets, which are widely used to manage scars, provided high hydration levels but caused increased TEWL after removal due to rapid evaporation of retained moisture.
Strataderm liquid silicone gel and Bio-Oil Skincare Oil performed poorly, with negligible effects on hydration and TEWL.
“Eucerin’s efficacy in increasing hydration can be attributed not only to its formulation as an oil-in-water emulsion, but also to the presence of glycerine and urea as the primary active ingredients after water,” Klotz said.
“In contrast, the products with the lowest hydration efficacy were Alhydran, Strataderm and Bio-Oil which were the most expensive, and [the two latter] showed limited ability to normalise TEWL.
“These findings highlight that higher cost does not necessarily correlate with superior outcomes,” Klotz concluded.
Read the study HERE. KB
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