Enhancing Patient Compliance for Usage of Laundry Detergents Free of Dyes and Perfumes: Potential Impact of Better Cleaning Performance

Abstract

Sensitive skin, an often self-reported condition, is characterized by an unpleasant sensory experience to a variety of consumer products. Certain ingredients in consumer products, such fragrances and dyes, are believed to exacerbate skin sensitivities. Due to an increased prevalence of people reporting sensitive skin, a variety of consumer products are formulated for people with this condition. A segment of commercially marketed laundry detergents, commonly known as free detergents, have been formulated without dyes and perfumes to accommodate skin sensitivities. In the US and Canada respectively, 80% and 97% of dermatologist recommend the use of free detergents for their patients with sensitive skin. However, consumers have expressed dissatisfaction with free detergents, with 39% reporting they are not satisfied with their free detergent’s cleaning performance. When people switch from the leading free laundry detergent, they will switch to a non-free detergent 60% of the time, going against dermatologist recommendations and potentially further aggravating their skin sensitivities. Recently, a survey of US households with sensitive skin showed that 98.8% said that they would be more likely to consistently use a detergent that cleans better. Herein are reported data showing Tide Pods Free & Gentle outperformed other free detergents in cleaning across a wide variety of laundry stains and in SEM visual analysis of soil residues on fibers. It is postulated that the better cleaning detergent may help drive patient compliance with dermatologist recommendations for usage of a free detergent for their patients with sensitive skin.

Copper Chelants and Antioxidants in Laundry Detergent Formulations Reduce Formation of Malodor Molecules on Fabrics

“…However, in the context of current laundry conditions as described above, these approaches can be insufficient. For example, laundering synthetic fibers and blends in cold water temperatures with insufficient quantities of detergent or poor‐quality detergents can result in incomplete body soil removal (Abdul‐Bari et al, 2020; Johnson et al, 2020). Body soils left behind on fabrics will break down over time due to microbial action or autoxidation into malodorous byproducts, which consumers describe as body, sweat, stale, or musty odors (Callewaert et al, 2014; Chi and Obendorf, 1998a, b; Munk et al, 2001).…”