The product is part of the company’s Olay Total Effects range and uses proprietary technology to deposit moisturizing and anti-aging factors on the skin.
“Body washes can moisturize by depositing petrolatum on the skin, some of which remains even after the product has been washed off,” explained Dr. Rolanda Johnson, senior scientist at P&G Beauty & Grooming.
However, too much petrolatum deposited and the skin can feel unpleasantly coated and not properly clean, she said.
In order to solve this problem, the Cincinnati-based consumer goods giant has developed a technology designed to combine a clean after feel with good moisturization.
The technique is based on stabilizing the surfactants and lipids so they can stay separate within the formulation, in comparison to most formulations where all the ingredients are emulsified together, Johnson explained.
Beyond moisturizing
In addition to moisturizing, the lipids that are deposited on the skin are used as carriers for a number of other active ingredients, including niacinamide (vitamin B3) which is central to the company’s Olay Total Effects anti-aging range.
According to in vivo tests performed by P&G, use of the body wash over 25 days improved skin elasticity and cohesion when compared to a water-only control.
“In this way we feel we are going beyond basic moisturization. Improving the moisture of the skin is the first step, which we need in order to see some of the other benefits, but the increase in elasticity is an anti-aging benefit,” she said.
Body skin care has taken a back seat when compared to the plethora of products available for the face, but, according to P&G the appearance of the body skin also adds to the perception of an individual's age.
Although the body wash is the first non face product to be released, Johnson said the company would be looking to develop the technology and perhaps expand into different product sectors.
Olay Total Effects Anti-Aging Body wash is available in the US this month and a launch in Singapore and China is planned for the near future.