Assessment of antimicrobial efficacy in selected antibacterial cosmetics

Introduction: Many microorganisms present on human skin can cause various diseases. One preventive measure is the use of cosmetics with antibacterial properties. These include everyday body care products and specialized ones designed to limit bacterial growth. This study aims to assess the antimicrobial efficacy of various cosmetics against selected bacteria and yeasts naturally found on the skin.Materials and methods: The study used clinical strains of: Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Enterococcus faecium, Candida albicans, and reference strains of: Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, and Acinetobacter baumannii ATCC 19606. Five commercially available antibacterial cosmetics were tested. Effectiveness was assessed by the reduction in bacterial numbers, expressed as log colony-forming units (CFU)×cm-3, and the size of the growth inhibition zone, expressed in mm.Results: Our research found that the highest antibacterial efficacy was achieved by the face gel and antiperspirant. The gel caused an average reduction in bacterial numbers by 4.73 log CFU×cm-3. The mattifying powder and creams were less effective. In the disc-diffusion method, the antiperspirant most frequently showed the largest inhibition zone, while the regenerating cream showed the smallest.Conclusion: The use of antibacterial cosmetics limits the growth of microorganisms, which is crucial for maintaining body hygiene and alleviating symptoms of skin diseases.