Savlon is a brand of

antibacterial An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention ...

personal care products with the active ingredients of cetrimide and

chlorhexidine gluconate Chlorhexidine is a disinfectant and antiseptic which is used for skin disinfection before surgery and to disinfect surgical instruments. It is also used for cleaning wounds, preventing dental plaque, treating yeast infections of the mouth, ...

. Commonly sold as a

cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

, the product range also includes antiseptic sprays, sticking plasters and other antiseptic products. __TOC__

History

The product name is derived from the original

Imperial Chemical Industries Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British Chemical industry, chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. Its headquarters were at Millbank in London. ICI was listed on the London Stock Exchange ...

(ICI) manufacturing site name of the Avlon Works at Avonmouth near

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, UK on the

Severn Estuary The Severn Estuary () is the estuary of the River Severn, flowing into the Bristol Channel between South West England (from North Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire) and South Wales (from Cardiff, Newport to Monmouthshire). Its very h ...

. Savlon is sold in many countries with different manufacturing and licensing agreements. In 1992,

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technologies corporation headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Its common stock is a c ...

acquired the Savlon OTC brands from ICI. Since then, Johnson & Johnson manufactures and distributes Savlon products throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2015, Johnson & Johnson sold

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n rights to the Savlon and Shower To Shower brands to ITC Limited. Also in 1992, ICI sold its Bangladesh rights to Savlon to ICI Bangladesh Manufacturers Limited, now ACI Limited. In Australia, Savlon was acquired by Reckitt Benckiser after its takeover of Boots Healthcare (International) in late 2005. In June 2019, STADA Group of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

acquired UK rights to Savlon from

GlaxoSmithKline GSK plc (an acronym from its former name GlaxoSmithKline plc) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with headquarters in London. It was established in 2000 by a Mergers an ...

Consumer Products for its UK subsidiary Thornton & Ross. ASL Front

Formulation

The active ingredients in Savlon products are two antiseptics, cetrimide and

.Savlon
in ''medicines.org.uk''. These agents were discovered and first developed by

(ICI). Savlon is commonly sold as an antiseptic liquid. It is used for cleansing and prevention of infection in skin

lesion A lesion is any damage or abnormal change in the tissue of an organism, usually caused by injury or diseases. The term ''Lesion'' is derived from the Latin meaning "injury". Lesions may occur in both plants and animals. Types There is no de ...

s, including small cuts and blisters and minor burns, and is useful in

first aid kit A first aid kit or medical kit is a collection of supplies and equipment used to give First aid, immediate medical treatment, primarily to treat injuries and other mild or moderate medical conditions. There is a wide variation in the contents o ...

s. Other items sold in the Savlon range include hygiene soap, antiseptic cream, and healing gel. Savlon's antiseptic liquid comes in the SKU sizes of 75 ml, 125 ml, 250 ml, 500 ml, 750 ml and 2 L.

References

{{reflist Antiseptics Soap brands Imperial Chemical Industries ITC Limited