Why Skin Safety Is a Site Compliance Issue, Not Just a Welfare Extra

Occupational contact dermatitis is the most common occupational skin disease recorded by the HSE, and it is also one of the most preventable. Construction, engineering, and industrial work exposes hands to cement, oils, solvents, and repeated wet and dry washing cycles that break down the skin's natural barrier faster than it can recover without a structured routine in place.

The MedWash range covers every stage of construction hand hygiene and site welfare hygiene, from heavy-duty cleaning and daily antibacterial hand soap use through to pre-work protection, post-work recovery, and seasonal sun care. This guide walks through the full range and helps you match the right products to your site, workshop, or mobile team.

The Three-Step Skin Care Regime: Clean, Protect, Moisturise

Every MedWash Skin Safety Centre is built around the same three-step sequence, recognised as the standard framework for managing skin health in industrial and construction environments.

• Clean: Removes contamination before it causes lasting damage. This step uses either a heavy-duty gritted hand cleaner for oil and grease, or a standard antibacterial soap for general hygiene.
• Protect: Barrier cream applied before work begins, forming a layer that helps reduce contact between skin and workplace contaminants during the shift.
• Moisturise: Reconditioning cream applied after washing, restoring moisture and oils lost through repeated handwashing.

Skipping any single step reduces the effectiveness of the whole regime. A worker who cleans and protects but never moisturises will still develop dry, cracked skin over a working season, just more slowly than if no regime was followed at all.

Choosing Your Skin Safety Centre

The Skin Safety Centre is the wall-mounted (or vehicle-mounted) board that houses the dispensers for your chosen regime. MedWash offers four, each built for a different setting.

Product	Dispensers	Best For
Hand Protection CentreJL100025View product →	4 (2L cleaner + 3x 1L)	Heavy industrial soiling, oil and grease
Hand Hygiene CentreJL100026View product →	3 (all 1L)	General hygiene, workshops, warehouses
Van Hygiene CentreJL100027View product →	3 (all 750ml)	Mobile operatives, no fixed welfare cabin
Sun Safety CentreJL100029View product →	1 (1L or 750ml)	Outdoor teams, spring through summer

The Hand Protection Centre and Hand Hygiene Centre are both sized to match the equivalent DEB skin safety board, making them a straightforward DEB alternative for sites switching welfare supplier onto existing wall fixings. The Van Hygiene Centre runs a waterless Sanitise, Protect, Moisturise sequence for vehicle mounting, and the Sun Safety Centre adds a built-in mirror and UV reference chart alongside its SPF50 dispenser.

Choosing the Right Hand Cleaner

Not every hand cleaning task needs the same product. MedWash covers three distinct cleaning needs, and choosing the wrong one either under-cleans heavy soiling or wastes a heavy-duty product on light daily hygiene.

Product	Formula	Use When
Orange Hand CleanerJL100009 · 2LView product →	Solvent-free, walnut shell grit	Heavy ingrained oil, grease and grime
Lime Hand CleanerJL100004 · 2LView product →	Solvent-free, walnut shell grit	Heavy ingrained oil, grease and grime
Antibacterial Hand SoapJL100013 · 1LView product →	Antibacterial, no grit	General hygiene, moderate soiling
TriCleanse 3-in-1 WashJL100032 · 2LView product →	Hand, hair and body formula	End-of-shift showering in changing rooms

The Orange and Lime Hand Cleaners share an identical formula, walnut shell grit that physically breaks down heavy soiling without the drain-blocking issues of synthetic scrubbers. Fragrance is the only difference between the two.

Barrier Cream and Reconditioning Cream Explained

These two products form the Protect and Moisturise steps of the regime, and they are frequently confused for one another despite doing opposite jobs.

Barrier Cream: applied before work

Barrier cream helps protect the skin against light to moderate exposure to water and non-water based workplace contaminants. It is unperfumed, aids grip on handheld tools, and adds comfort under gloves during extended wear. Barrier cream supports skin protection but does not replace gloves or other PPE identified as necessary under a COSHH assessment.

Reconditioning Cream: applied after work

Reconditioning cream restores moisture and leaves hands feeling soft and smooth after repeated washing, without a greasy residue that would affect grip on the next task. It is perfumed, distinguishing it clearly from the unperfumed barrier cream.

Product	Step	Compatible With
Barrier Cream (1 Litre)JL100018View product →	Protect	Hand Protection Centre, Hand Hygiene Centre
Barrier Cream (750ml)JL100017View product →	Protect	Van Hygiene Centre, 750ml dispensers
Reconditioning Cream (1 Litre)JL100023View product →	Moisturise	Hand Protection Centre, Hand Hygiene Centre
Reconditioning Cream (750ml)JL100022View product →	Moisturise	Van Hygiene Centre, 750ml dispensers

Sun Safety for Outdoor Workers

UV radiation is a recognised occupational hazard, and UK guidance increasingly frames sun protection as falling under an employer's duty of care under the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992. Providing sun cream is only part of the answer: independent research shows that visibility and application accuracy matter as much as product availability, which is why the MedWash Sun Safety Centre includes a mirror and UV reference chart alongside the dispenser.

The SPF50 sun cream itself is unperfumed, suitable for sensitive skin, and formulated to absorb quickly without a greasy residue, supporting the frequent reapplication that effective sun protection depends on.

UV exposure risk rises sharply from April through September in the UK, and demand for sun safety stock increases across the same period. Ordering ahead of the season avoids gaps in provision once outdoor work ramps up.

Product	Size	Compatible With
Factor 50 Sun Cream (1 Litre)JL100040View product →	1 Litre	Sun Safety Centre (standard cartridge)
Factor 50 Sun Cream (750ml)JL100039View product →	750ml	Sun Safety Centre (alternative cartridge)

Dispensers: Matching Cartridge to Compatible Hardware

MedWash uses three sealed cartridge sizes across the range. Getting the size right matters, since a cartridge will not fit a dispenser it was not designed for.

Product	Cartridge Size	Used In
2 Litre Lockable DispenserJLMWDP2L-WHTView product →	2 Litre	Standalone hand cleaner and TriCleanse installations
1 Litre Lockable DispenserJLMWDP1L-WHTView product →	1 Litre	Hand Protection Centre, Hand Hygiene Centre
750ml Lockable DispenserJL100028View product →	750ml	Van Hygiene Centre, Sun Safety Centre (alternative)

All MedWash dispensers use a sealed cartridge system rather than a bulk-fill reservoir, meaning the product stays enclosed and uncontaminated until it is dispensed. This also makes MedWash dispensers a practical alternative for sites affected by the recent withdrawal of GOJO and Purell products from the UK and European market, since MedWash cartridges remain in full UK supply.

Also Compatible with the 750ml Dispenser: Gel Sanitiser

Product	Size	Compatible With
Gel SanitiserJL100044 · 750mlView product →	750ml	Van Hygiene Centre, 750ml dispensers (73% alcohol, waterless)

Frequently Asked Questions