WAIKOLOA, HAWAII – Mineral makeup has been game changing for everything from covering acne blemishes to masking postprocedure discoloration, noted Dr. Howard K. Steinman.
"Mineral makeup has done to medical makeup what fillers and Botox have done to the field of facial cosmetic surgery. You now have little excuse for not using makeup in your office," said Steinman, director of dermatologic and skin cancer surgery at Scott and White Medical Center, Temple, Texas.
Mineral makeup is easy for patients to learn how to apply effectively; anyone on the office staff can be trained to teach patients how, he said. The products take up a trivial amount of office space, cost very little, pose negligible risk, and generate considerable patient satisfaction.
Bruce Jancin/Elsevier Global Medical News
Dr. Howard K. Steinman
"Mineral makeup achieves really spectacular results," said Dr. Steinman at the annual Hawaii Dermatology Seminar sponsored by Skin Disease Education Foundation (SDEF).
Patients go to a dermatologist because they want cure or control of a medical condition, symptomatic relief, and an improved appearance. But while successful treatment of melasma, for example, may take months, the patient’s appearance can be improved immediately in the interim – on day 1 of therapy –through the use of mineral makeup.
Mineral makeup provides complete coverage for macular medical conditions including acne erythema, rosacea, vitiligo, sarcoidosis, port wine stains, and spider vessels. These products are also the answer to postprocedure discoloration following chemical peels, laser resurfacing, and fillers.
"It’s your fire extinguisher for procedural misadventures. The nice thing about having mineral makeups in your office is you don’t have to worry about these things as much because the problem is going to leave the office fixed," Dr. Steinman explained.
Green-tinted concealer is a popular but ineffective solution for red discoloration of skin. The results tend to be muddy looking and unconvincing. Mineral makeup, he said, is far superior.
Dr. Steinman singled out four companies as the major players in the mineral makeup market: Youngblood, Bare Minerals, Color Science, and Jane Iredale. All have been in business a long time, offer products of excellent quality, and provide reasonably good service to physicians, he said.
He prefers Youngblood in his own office because his wife, a paramedical camouflage therapist trained to cover burn scars and disfiguring surgical wounds, prefers the quality.
"My suggestion is to have your esthetician, or whoever will be doing your makeup, try them all and decide which one they prefer," said Dr. Steinman.
He also recommends Dermacolor (Kryolan), a specialized camouflage foundation system made in Germany that is formulated for postoperative skin and contains an opaque sunscreen. Unlike mineral makeup, Dermacolor is waterproof even with swimming. The company offers more than 70 premixed colors, although a selection of about 20 is sufficient to cover virtually any clinical situation, he said.
Dr. Steinman suggested that the makeup artist match the patient’s skin tones before surgery so Dermacolor is ready to be applied at the first postoperative visit.
Dr. Steinman said a relatively new comprehensive line of makeup products he recommends is Cover FX. The product texture and coverage are outstanding, it’s easy for patients to apply, and the company caters to physicians, he said.
Camouflage makeup does have limitations. It won’t effectively cover three-dimensional lesions, such as acne scars or keloids. And it can’t do much for burn scars with absent hair and skin pores, he noted.
That being said, Dr. Steinman considers makeup in the office an indispensable part of his practice. "Makeup is just essential, I think, if you’re going to do cosmetic surgery or you want to treat patients with medical macular problems," he said.
Dr. Steinman reported having no financial relationships with any of the companies he discussed.
SDEF and this news organization are owned by Elsevier.
*This post was updated on 3/7/12.