Unleashing Innovation: How Walker Tape’s Dedication to Safety is Changing the Industry
“What tapes are safe for skin?” “Is wig tape okay for my skin?” “What tape is safe for skin?” “Will this tape make my skin break out?” “What’s the safest tape to use?”
everyone they interact with, and through their products via a standard of constant improvement and refinement.
These are just a few of the questions that barely scratch the surface of client concerns regarding the safety of hair system adhesives. Questions like these can plague stylists and hair system professionals across salons worldwide, sending them on a quest for answers.
Certified through an advanced cosmetics clinical lab, Walker Tape sent in 10 of their most popular products to be clinically tested through a repeated insult patch tests (RIPT) panel. Those included eight tapes and two preparation products.
These questions are legitimate and concerning. Limited long-term studies have been undertaken on the topic, and while the ingredients in the adhesives can be weighed by their individual safety, it isn’t a concrete answer. For wearers, there can be an unattractive amount of risk involved. For stylists, it can be helpful to have additional knowledge in fielding safety-related questions. As an industry leader and manufacturer of hair system products since before the first "Top Gun" movie showed on the silver screen over 35 years ago, Walker Tape is committed to empowering confidence in
For 2023, Walker Tape to set out to find an official answer to the questions. But did they? Absolutely.
A patch test is a method of reaction testing in which a small amount of a product (this can be tapes, liquid adhesives, and other hair system products in our case!) is placed on an inconspicuous area of the client’s skin, then covered with a patch and left to its own devices for either 24 or 48 hours. A test is considered successful if there are no reactions from the client once the patch is removed. The RIPT panel was performed over a one-month span, with 67 subjects who met the standards for inclusion in a study (i.e., free of dermatological disorders, free of chronic diseases, and passed a preliminary medical history with the lab) participating.
The 67 were then tested with our products under a full patch three times a week in their lab for that month's timeframe. The results of the September panel came back in the final weeks of October, and all ten products were officially classified as “Non-Primary Irritants or Non-Primary Sensitizers”, which means that over repeated usage, they cause no reactions to the skin. “No evidence of any effect” was noted across all 67 study participants of various races, ages, and backgrounds. Once the study was completed, all results and data were sent to a licensed dermatologist for a final approval and painted with a beautiful signature. Walker Tape was ecstatic to hear the results of the study. Each of their tested products will now have its own special “clinically tested” symbol next to its location on their website. The symbol will also be featured in their upcoming 2024 wholesale catalog, along with many other new features and educational information that they’ve added to help stylists and distributors. The hope is that these beginning stages and explanations of RIPT and patch testing will help to relieve any worries stylists and clients may have regarding adhesives or other hair system products. Walker Tape is committed to continued safety initiatives going forward and creating a new standard of assured adhesive safety. Because not only should your clients feel confident in themselves, but they should also feel confident in the products that are used! THE LINK MAGAZINE
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