Expert Take

HandwasHing Coronavirus (& Your Skin Health) Away

Claudio Barbesino – President, CSolutions Italia S.r.l. and an experienced Italian entrepreneur in the H&B field weighs the good and bad of frequently washing your hands to prevent COVID19 infections.

Frequently washing your hands and using alcohol-based hand sanitizers is one of the widelyaccepted habits that the COVID19 pandemic has brought to our daily lives. Washing hands is undoubtedly the best way to kill the virus and reduce the risk of contracting the disease – however, it stipulates the availability of clean water and soap as well as the right understanding of how to do it effectively. To make sure that the soap cleans each corner and crevice of your hands where the virus might hide, it is not only important to carefully brush difficult-toclean areas like under your nails but also prolong the action for a certain time period – hygienists recommend singing ‘Happy Birthday’ a couple of times to make sure you have given enough time for the soap to break down the coronavirus.

Before the COVID19 outbreak, it was recommended not to exaggerate frequent handwashing so as not to over-stress the skin and allow it to restore the physio balance. Nourishing and moisturising creams were suggested to rebuild the protective film on the skin – this was because frequent washes make your hands dry and cause the skin to crack and peel off, and soon your hands could suffer sensitisation and dermatitis would show up. But now, with the risk of COVID19 spread, health & hygiene guidelines encourage not only frequent washing of hands but also, the application of alcohol on top of it. This, while protecting you from the virus, would eventually prove to be a disaster for your skin. In a few weeks, doctors will face a new epidemic of skin discomfort due to ‘exhausted cutis’ incapable of returning to its physiological wellness status.

So, are we sure this current COVID19 prevention protocol will be the right solution in the long run?

Certainly not! It is time for the hygiene industry to step up and find an alternative – a milder product with the capability to match the effectiveness of soap, water, and alcohol, but easy on the skin too.

In this sense, we’ll also shortly see new products in the market, aimed at reducing the damage caused by alcohol-based sanitizers. Moisturising disinfectant creams, possibly containing small quantities of Clorexidine or Ammonium Chloride and sanitizers with a more complex formula that is respectful to skin physiology would be appealing to the consumers – especially, if they also offer complementary actions such as whitening effects. An effective solution could be Hydrogen Peroxide Claudio Barbesino

and Colloidal Silver – one of the best results from research done by Slovenian Pharmacist Dr Domnik Tompa Majcen – Co-Owner and R&D “Brain” of ENIKAM Group.

And India?

India could find its own way to address this challenge – as often seen, by rediscovering a natural solution from its rich tradition of Ayurveda. Research the wealth of ancient knowledge to bring together a magic blend for a trendy botanical solution with antiviral as well as skin restoration properties. It could be just Neem and Hemp oil, why not? Or an unknown herb, properties of which are known only to some tribal group?

Maybe this is the time to bring them to the spotlight.

I’m a Marketer, not an Ayurvedic Doctor or a Scientist. But with my experience of over 40 years in H&B, I am pretty sure that a bit of effort to trace an Indian solution to this problem could bring out an amazing result.