Testing keratolytic effect of carbamide in various vehicles.

BACKGROUND Urea is a natural protein degradation product widely used in keratolytic preparations due to its property to promote fibrinogen decomposition and to act as a proteolytic agent dissolving and denaturing proteins. Preparations containing 20% or 40% urea in commercial ambiphylic bases are widely used to produce keratolysis. At such high concentration urea recrystallization occurs and is separated over the preparation mass, particularly if the urea content is 40%. This was the initial reason to look for a new preparation formulation that would not have the above-mentioned technological inadequacy. Considering urea's water solubility and its high content in the preparations, the most convenient form, in which recrystallisation would not occur, was gel. The aim of this work was to experimentally estimate the influence of the vehicle upon the proteolytic effect of urea on keratin in the human hair model. METHODS Hair geometrical properties, the change in longitudinal mass, and the change of disruptive force and disruptive hair elongation were measured. RESULTS The effect of 20% and 40% urea was estimated in three various vehicles, of which two were of organic hydrogel type, and one was an ambiphylic base of mixed type--Basiscreme. CONCLUSION Keratin proteolysis effects of urea incorporated into various bases, as measured by human hair disruption forces, depended upon the base; preparations containing 20% and 40% urea in Basiscreme (ambiphylic base) had no desired proteolytic effect upon keratin fibers; proteolysis was best expressed bay urea preparations in 3.5% NaCMC gel, and proteolytic effect of these preparations was best expressed in the first hour.