P&G Laundry Detergents: Testing for skin allergies

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For decades, this test has been used worldwide to determine if a material has the potential to cause contact sensitization or skin allergies. (Stotts, 1980). In the HRIPT, a small patch of the test material (smaller than the pad of a standard plaster) is applied for 24 hours to the upper arm of each of 80 to 100 volunteer panelists. The material is reapplied three times a week for three weeks at the same site on the upper arm. After a two week rest period, the test material is applied again at the same site. If the test material causes a contact allergy, the test site will appear red, and may be slightly swollen or itchy.

Result: Thirteen HRIPTs have been conducted on our current detergent formulations. These tests involved a total of 1221 volunteer panelists. There was no indication that any or our formulations caused skin allergies. This was the expected result for the finished product formulation since none of the individual ingredients have been shown to cause skin allergies when used in our laundry detergents
  The exposure in this test is designed to simulate and exaggerate the types of exposures a consumer might have if she uses concentrated product to pretreat stains. In this test, a 50% slurry of powder product is used. The volunteer panelists rub their hands with this slurry for 60 seconds, three times each week for 8 weeks. A 48-hour diagnostic patch test for contact sensitization is conducted prior to the first exposure, and following the final exposure to determine if this rigorous exposure to the product produced any evidence of contact sensitization (skin allergy).

Result: There was no evidence that exposure to the laundry powder product used in this test produced skin allergy in any of the volunteers.