Cosmetic camouflage provides emotional benefits

New York - Patients who have visible facial skin conditions such as acne and vitiligo can derive emotional benefits from cosmetic camouflage therapy, results of a recent study indicate.

Investigators with Mount Sinai School of Medicine’s department of dermatology reviewed studies from the PubMed and Scopus databases to evaluate quality of life in patients with facial skin conditions who used camouflage therapy. Vitiligo was the most studied condition with regard to effects of camouflage therapy on quality of life, Healio.com reports. In all of the vitiligo studies, using camouflage therapy resulted in “significant improvements” in quality of life scores, according to Healio.com.

One study that included more than 135 cases of pigmentation disorders, scarring and vascular skin conditions noted patients’ mean Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) scores decreased from 9.1 before undergoing a cosmetic camouflage consultation to 5.8 a month later.

A study of women who had acne or rosacea demonstrated mean DLQI scores of 9.2 at consultation and 5.5 after therapy.

“Patients with visible skin conditions have increased rates of depression, anxiety and decreased self-esteem,” the study authors noted. “It is prudent for us to consider therapies that can offer rapid and dramatic results, such as cosmetic camouflage.”

The review was published in the November issue of Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology.