Put yourself in the following scenario: a new, all natural sweetener is out on the market. We need to give it a sexy name, so let’s call it “sucre dans l’eau” or something. People everywhere are raving about it. “Adding to a small amount completely changes the flavor profile of my dish!” “My cakes are so much more moist now!” You see it all over TikTok. You’re intrigued, naturally, so maybe you buy a 2 oz bottle for $14.99 or whatever and taste. A little sweet, but mild. Not bad. You check the ingredient list, which says “water…cane sugar,” and that’s it. Wait, what? People are shelling out $15 for a 2 ounce bottle of sugar water!? Yeah, basically. But this time, it’s for skincare. And it’s not sugar water; it’s dilute bleach. Pool water, more or less.
But we need to give the original concept more credit than that. A solution of dilute bleach with water was formulated by chemist Henry Dakins in the early 1900s, who discovered that it not only worked well as a disinfectant, but aided wound healing. “Dakins solution” was born, and had been used as a staple in wound care since before antibiotics. Dakins solution comes in a variety of concentrations, but in dermatology we have frequently included “Dilute Dakins” for gentle wound cleansing (DILUTE) is important here as the next step up in strength is 10 times as concentrated. Dil-Dak Sol is a solution of 0.0125% sodium hypochlorite. Remember that number! Some of the more OG, concentrated solutions are thought to be possibly cytotoxic when it comes to wound healing. Vashe solution is another favorite of the same family. Notably more expensive, but similar to Dakins, and rounding out at 0.033%.
But Dakins aside, dermatologists have been recommending dilute bleach baths for their patients with eczema for decades. When I recommended dilute bleach baths to a younger patient of mine with bad eczema, her grandmother (who came with her to the appointment) knowingly slapped her see and said “See?? I’ve been telling you!” As if wisdom had finally come full circle.
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At some point in the last few years, somebody smelled opportunity to use old technology for new money. Queue the hypochlorous acid craze. Several companies and skin care brands have come out in recent years with a “new“ hypochlorous acid spray that they pinky promise, is not the same thing as dilute bleach solution: Prequel (0.02%), Magic Molecule (0.018%), Tower 28 (0.015%?), etc. No, totally different we swear. Are they bad products? No, I’m sure they’re great, just like the dilute bleach baths we’ve been recommending for years of this point.
What gets me isn’t the product, it’s the highway robbery: dilute bleach being marketed as some sort of liquid epiphany, and at a markup that should make people feel guilty. A 40 gallon bleach bath costs about 50 cents to make. Most of these products are advertised at 4-8 dollars an ounce. You can argue that there’s value in paying for convenience, sure… Maybe. And maybe people shouldn’t be mixing their own skin care products at home. As a general rule, I wholeheartedly agree.
But friends, you’re paying out the nose for the equivalent of sugar water when you very likely have both sugar and water at home.
Med-Derm, MD 