Introduction

All major guidelines indicate that proper skin care is crucial for effective management of atopic dermatitis (AD). Nevertheless, surprisingly little research was done on actual skincare routines among AD patients.

Aim

The aim of this study was to investigate skincare regimens, their perceived benefits and burdens, including adverse effects.

Material and methods

Anonymous web-based questionnaire.

Results

184 people with AD (18–49 years old) completed the survey. The declared number of sessions of skincare product application ranged from 1 to 30 (median 4) while the amount of time spent on skin care was 1–450 (median 40) min per day. The participants collectively named 228 individual skincare (leave-on) products they used on the preceding day. 84.3% of participants declared that all or almost all skincare products improved their skin condition, while for 14.7%, most products worsened their skin condition and for 1.1%, every skincare product they tried had a negative effect. 37.5% of participants experienced adverse effects of skincare products at least once. Asked if they perceive benefits of using skincare products dedicated specifically to AD, 67.9% of participants responded “definitely yes”, 26.7% “rather yes”, 4.9% “rather not”, and 0.5% “definitely not”. In the opinion of 91.3% of participants, neglecting their skincare routines results in worsening, 4.9% see no difference, while 3.8% experience an improvement in their skin condition.

Conclusions

Patients with AD use a wide range of skincare products and spend a significant amount of time on skin care. Most patients see benefits from using skincare products, but 1 in 3 patients with atopic dermatitis has experienced at least one adverse reaction, and 1 in 6 patients finds that skincare products for atopic dermatitis do more harm than good to their skin.