title: Clay jojoba oil facial mask for lesioned skin and mild acne--results of a prospective, observational pilot study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  External application of clay facial masks is a cosmetic procedure generally used to reduce skin lesions and to improve overall skin condition.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Collecting pilot data about self-treatment with clay jojoba oil masks on participants with acne-prone, lesioned skin and acne.
  
  
  METHODS
  Open, prospective, observational pilot study: Participants received written information, instructions, and questionnaires without direct contact with the study physician. For 6 weeks, they applied the masks 2-3 times per week. The primary outcome is the difference of skin lesions: baseline vs. after 6 weeks.
  
  
  RESULTS
  194 participants (192 female, 2 male, mean age (± SE) (32.3 ± 0.7 years) returned questionnaires and diaries. 133 of these participants returned complete and precise lesion counts (per-protocol (PP) collective). A 54% mean reduction in total lesion count was observed after 6 weeks of treatment with clay facial mask. Both inflammatory and non-inflammatory skin lesions were reduced significantly after treatment compared to baseline: Median counts (MC) of pustules per affected participant were reduced from 7.0 ± 0.9 to 3.0 ± 0.5 (mean individual reduction (MIR) = 49.4%), the MC of the papules from 3.5 ± 2.2 to 1.0 ± 0.4 (MIR = 57.3%), the MC of cysts from 2.0 ± 0.8 to 0.5 ± 0.4 (MIR = 68.6%) and the MC of comedones from 26.5 ± 6.3 to 16.0 ± 4.0 (MIR = 39.1%). DLQI-average score decreased from 5.0 ± 4.5 (mean ± SE) before to 2.1 ± 2.8 after treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study gives preliminary evidence that healing clay jojoba oil facial masks can be effective treatment for lesioned skin and mild acne vulgaris.
authors.affiliation: Immanuel Hospital, Department of Complementary and Integrative Medicine, Charité University Medical Centre, Institute for Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Larissa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Meier
authors.forename: Rainer
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Stange
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Michalsen
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Uehleke
mesh_terms: D000152:Acne Vulgaris / Q000628:therapy*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000538:Aluminum Silicates / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000077215:Clay; D005145:Face / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014885:Waxes / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000538:Aluminum Silicates; D014885:Waxes; C034743:jojoba wax; D000077215:Clay