Cleansing composition with pyrrolidone carboxylic acid

1. A cleansing composition comprising:

a. about 0.005% to 0.090 pyrrolidone carboxylic acid;

b. about 2% to about 7% sodium lauryl sulfate;

c. about 0.5% to about 5% of a co-surfactant selected from zwitterionic surfactant, amphoteric surfactant, nonionic surfactant, or combinations thereof;

wherein the composition has a pH of about 3 to about 6 and a viscosity of about 5000 cps to about 10,000 cps;

wherein the mean skin pH 3 hours after washing is from about 5 to about 6.1;

wherein the mean PCA deposition of the cleansing composition is from about 0.03 to 0.08 ng PCA/μg protein.

2. The cleansing composition of claim 1 , comprising about 0.02% to about 0.07% pyrrolidone carboxylic acid.

3. The cleansing composition of claim 2 , comprising about 0.025% to about 0.05% pyrrolidone carboxylic acid.

4. The cleansing composition of claim 1 , wherein the composition comprises about 4% to about 6% sodium lauryl sulfate and wherein the cleansing composition is a liquid hand wash composition.

5. The cleansing composition of claim 1 , wherein the composition comprises about 2% to about 5% sodium lauryl sulfate and wherein the cleansing composition is a foaming hand wash composition.

6. The cleansing composition of 1 , wherein the composition comprises about 1.5% to about 2.5% co-surfactant.

7. The cleansing composition of 6 , wherein the co-surfactant comprises cocamidopropyl betaine.

8. The cleansing composition of claim 1 , wherein the pH is about 4 to about 5.

9. A method of washing hands and helping skin maintain its natural barrier against bacteria comprising:

a. providing a container that contains the cleansing composition of claim 1 and is the configured to dispense the composition;

b. dispensing the hand wash composition onto a user's hands;

c. lathering the composition by rubbing the hands together;

d. spreading the lathered hand wash composition across the surface of the hands; and

e. rinsing the composition off of the hands, wherein the cleansing composition helps skin maintain its natural barrier against bacteria.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the container is a pump dispenser or a pump foam dispenser.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein about 99% of bacteria present on the hands prior to washing are washed away.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein washing the hands with the cleansing composition helps balance skin's pH.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein washing the hands with the cleansing composition helps skin retain moisture.

14. The cleansing composition of claim 1 , wherein the mean skin pH 3 hours after washing is from about 5.5 to about 6.

15. The cleansing composition of claim 1 , wherein the mean PCA deposition of the cleansing composition is from about 0.04 to 0.07 ng PCA/μg protein.