TLDR Papain cream removes hair better than papain gel, causing hair follicles to widen and skin to thicken.
In a study from 2007, researchers investigated the effects of papain, a proteolytic enzyme, in gel and cream formulations as a non-harmful depilatory treatment for hirsutism on mice. Over a period of 31 days, two groups of mice had these formulations applied daily to their backs. The group treated with the gel formula showed a less noticeable depilatory effect, while the group treated with the cream formula exhibited a significant depilatory effect. Histological analysis revealed that the cream formula caused approximately 55% dilation of the hair follicle lumen and an increase in epidermal thickness, indicating that the papain cream was more effective than the papain gel in hair removal.
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