Abstract:
This cross-sectional descriptive study aimed to investigate the prevalence of allergenic ingredients in general facial cleansers, facial cleansers for sensitive skin, and organic facial cleansers available in Thailand. The study also sought to identify the most frequently detected allergens among these products. A total of 245 facial cleansing products were included, collected from general stores, online stores, and hospital-affiliated retail outlets. Allergen-related information was obtained from product labels using a structured data collection form. Data analysis was performed using Microsoft Excel. Fishers Exact Test was used to compare the prevalence of allergenic ingredients among different groups of products, as it provides greater accuracy in cases with relatively small sample sizes. In addition, One-way ANOVA was employed to compare the mean number of allergenic ingredients across product groups. Since the data were quantitative, One-way ANOVA was considered an appropriate statistical method for comparing the means of a continuous variable across more than two groups. Statistical analysis was conducted using the IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version 2.0.
The results revealed that the prevalence of products containing at least one allergen was 94.35% (167/177) in general facial cleansers, 92.31% (48/52) in products for sensitive skin, and 93.75% (15/16) in organic facial cleansers. There was no statistically significant difference among the groups (p > 0.05). However, the highest mean number of allergens per product was found in general facial cleansers (3.41 ± 1.70), which was significantly higher than that in products for sensitive skin (p = 0.030). The five most commonly identified allergens were Phenoxyethanol, Propylene Glycol, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Benzoate, and Ethylhexylglycerin, ingredients commonly used as preservatives, moisturizers, and surfactants.