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 of ...

personal care products with the active ingredients of

cetrimide Cetrimide, or alkyltrimethylammonium bromide, is an antiseptic which is a mixture of three quaternary ammonium compounds: tetradonium bromide (TTAB or MITMAB), cetrimonium bromide (CTAB), and laurtrimonium bromide (DTAB or LTAB). It was first di ...

and

chlorhexidine gluconate Chlorhexidine (CHX) (commonly known by the salt forms chlorhexidine gluconate and chlorhexidine digluconate (CHG) or chlorhexidine acetate) is a disinfectant and antiseptic that is used for skin disinfection before surgery and to sterilize surgi ...

. 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 process ...

, the product range also includes antiseptic sprays,

sticking plaster An adhesive bandage, also called a sticking plaster, medical plaster, or simply plaster in British English, is a small medical dressing used for injuries not serious enough to require a full-size bandage. They are also known by the genericized tra ...

s and other antiseptic products.

History

The product name is derived from the original

Imperial Chemical Industries Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) was a British chemical company. It was, for much of its history, the largest manufacturer in Britain. It was formed by the merger of four leading British chemical companies in 1926. Its headquarters were at M ...

(ICI) manufacturing site name of the Avlon Works at

Avonmouth Avonmouth is a port and outer suburb of Bristol, England, facing two rivers: the reinforced north bank of the final stage of the Avon which rises at sources in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset; and the eastern shore of the Severn Estuar ...

near

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, UK on the

Severn Estuary The Severn Estuary ( cy, Aber Hafren) is the estuary of the River Severn, flowing into the Bristol Channel between South West England and South Wales. Its high tidal range, approximately , means that it has been at the centre of discussions in t ...

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

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1886 that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company i ...

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 (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n rights to the Savlon and Shower To Shower brands to

ITC Limited ITC Limited is an Indian conglomerate company headquartered in Kolkata. ITC has a diversified presence across industries such as FMCG, hotels, software, packaging, paperboards, specialty papers and agribusiness. The company has 13 businesses in ...

. Also in 1992, ICI sold its Bangladesh rights to Savlon to ICI Bangladesh Manufacturers Limited, now ACI Limited. In June 2019, STADA Group of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

acquired UK rights to Savlon from

GlaxoSmithKline GSK plc, formerly GlaxoSmithKline plc, is a British multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with global headquarters in London, England. Established in 2000 by a merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. GSK is the ten ...

Consumer Products for its UK subsidiary

Thornton & Ross Thornton & Ross is a pharmaceutical company based in Linthwaite founded in 1922 by Nathan Thornton and Phillip Ross. It is the producer of Covonia cough medicine, Zoflora disinfectant, Hedrin head lice treatment and the Care range of medicines. ...

Formulation

The active ingredients in Savlon products are two antiseptics,

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 disease or trauma. ''Lesion'' is derived from the Latin "injury". Lesions may occur in plants as well as animals. Types There is no designated classifi ...

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 immediate medical treatment, primarily to treat injuries and other mild or moderate medical conditions. There is a wide variation in the contents of first aid ...

s. Other items sold in the Savlon range include hygiene soap, antiseptic cream and healing gel. Savlon's antiseptic liquid comes in the

SKU In inventory management, a stock keeping unit (abbreviated as SKU and pronounced or ) is the unit of measure in which the stocks of a material are managed. Or to put it another way; is a distinct type of item for sale, purchased, or tracked in ...

sizes of 75 ml, 125 ml, 250 ml, 500 ml, 750 ml and 2 L. In Australia, Savlon was acquired by Reckitt Benckiser after its takeover of Boots Healthcare (International) in late 2005.

References

{{reflist Antiseptics Soap brands ITC Limited