The Effectiveness of Cleansing Oil Containing Polyglycerol Fatty Acid Esters on Keratotic Plugs

Abstract

Clogged pores are one of the top skin concerns for women, as they cause pores to look conspicuous and rough, which leads to dull skin around the pores and lackluster facial skin. In our previous study, we had conducted a continuous use test of cleansing oils for the purpose of removing keratotic plugs and had found that cleansing oil containing polyglycerol fatty acid esters (PGFE) is effective in reducing the size of keratotic plugs and the level of carbonylated proteins (CP) in stratum corneum around the pores. Keratotic plugs are substances composed of sebum and keratin-based proteins. In this study, we focused on the constituent sebum and compared the effectiveness of PGFE in cleansing oil with one of the polyethylene glycol-type surfactants (PEG). Consequently, it is confirmed that PGFE has better compatibility with sebum than PEG, and is highly effective in lowering the melting point of sebum, and these properties are considered to be related to the mechanism by which cleansing oils containing PGFE reduce the size of keratotic plugs.