title: Decorative cosmetics improve the quality of life in patients with disfiguring skin diseases.
abstract: Dermatoses may have a significant impact on a patient's quality of life, namely the relationship to others, self-image and self-esteem. We therefore asked whether the application of decorative cosmetics might increase their quality of life. Twenty female patients (16-69 y) with skin diseases affecting the patients' face (acne, n = 8; rosacea, n = 9; chronic discoid lupus erythematodes, n = 2; vitiligo, n = 1) were investigated. The patients were instructed by a cosmetician how to use decorative cosmetics (Unifiance , La Roche-Posay, France) and applied it daily for 2 weeks. The dermatology quality of life questionnaire (DLQI) was performed before the first application and 2 weeks afterwards. The clinical course was documented by standardised photography. Unifiance  was well tolerated and no side effects occurred. It completely masked the unwanted coloration and application resulted in a significant amelioration of the appearance. The mean DLQI score dropped significantly from 9.2 to 5.5 (p = 0.0009). Improvement of quality of life reached statistical significance among patients with acne (2.8 versus 7.8, p = 0.0078) and among individuals with a less severe initial impairment of quality of life (2.4 versus 4.2, p = 0.007). Thus, the use of decorative cosmetics in disfiguring skin diseases is an effective, well-tolerated measure increasing the patients' quality of life. We therefore suggest that decorative cosmetics can complement the treatment of disfiguring skin diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, D-60590, Frankfurt/Main, Germany. Boehncke@em.uni-frankfurt.de
authors.forename: Wolf-Henning
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Boehncke
authors.forename: Falk
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ochsendorf
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Paeslack
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kaufmann
authors.forename: Thomas Matthias
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Zollner
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003358:Cosmetics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005148:Facial Dermatoses / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011336:Probability; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D003358:Cosmetics