It also deals specifically with skin creams which are often made available to employees who are exposed to substances that may adversely affect their skin. Background Many substances commonly encountered in engineering processes are either skin irritants, or else they can degrease or otherwise attack the skin's natural defences. This can then lead to the two most common forms of occupational skin disease encountered - irritant contact dermatitis and allergic contact dermatitis. The concept of pre-work creams has existed for over 50 years. They are often known as 'barrier' creams and are generally formulated to repel either oil, grease, paint, solvents etc, or water-based products such as weak acids, alkalis and metalworking fluids.
Some creams claim to give protection against both.
Pre-work creams are designed to provide a protective layer between the skin and the substance. After-work creams are general purpose 'moisturisers' designed to replace the natural skin oils removed by washing and solvent action of substances in contact with the skin. They will not give the same level of protection as properly selected gloves. Equally the same tends to be true when applying a cream. Data is available for gloves but is not yet available for creams.