Clinically Tested Skin-Safe Products

Walker Tape® Clinically Tested Skin Safe Products

 

As a stylist, or a salon professional, you’ve probably gotten your fair share of questions like these:

 

“What tapes are safe for skin?”

“Will this tape make my skin break out?”

“What’s the safest tape to use?”

 

These questions are fair 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 very concrete answer.

 

For your clients, there can be an unattractive amount of risk involved. And for you, it can be helpful to have additional knowledge in fielding safety-related questions.

 

As an industry leader and manufacturer of hair system products, Walker Tape® has always been committed to empowering confidence in everyone we interact with, and through our products via a standard of constant improvement and refinement.

 

So, for 2023, we set out to find an official answer to the questions above. But did we?

 

Absolutely!

 

Certified through an advanced cosmetics clinical lab, we sent in ten of our most popular products to be clinically tested through a repeated insult patch tests (RIPT) panel. Those products include:

 

• 1522 Clear tape
• This Side to Base tape
• Natural Hold tape
• Sensi-Tak Select tape
• Lace Front tape
• Lace Front Thin tape
• No-Shine tape
• Pro-Flex II tape
• Scalp Protector
• Max Hold Sport

 

A patch test is a method of reaction testing in which a small amount of a product 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 to 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 participating in the study (i.e., free of dermatological disorders, free of chronic diseases, and passed a preliminary medical history with the lab). The 67 were then tested with our products under a full patch three times a week in their lab for that month timeframe.

 

The results of the September panel came back in the waning stages 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.

 

We were ecstatic to see all ten positive results! Each tested product will now have its own special “clinically tested” symbol next to its location on our website, and in our 2024 wholesale catalog.

 

Our hope is that these beginning stages and explanations of RIPT and patch testing will help to relieve any worries you and your 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!

 

 

If you any questions or comments regarding our clinically tested skin safe products, or the overall results of the study, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Customer Service team at [email protected], or by phone at 1.800.759.5150.