Leave-on facial products linked to frontal fibrosing alopecia

(HealthDay)—Leave-on facial skin care products seem to be associated with frontal fibrosing alopecia (FFA), according to a study published online March 14 in the British Journal of Dermatology.

Nadia Aldoori, M.B.Ch.B., from the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield, U.K., and colleagues administered a questionnaire to 105 women with FFA and 100 age- and sex-matched control subjects about exposure to a range of lifestyle, social, and medical factors. Patch testing with an extended British standard series of allergens was conducted on a subcohort of women with FFA.

The researchers found that compared with controls, the FFA group had greater sunscreen use. There was also a trend toward more frequent use of facial moisturizers and foundations for the FFA group, but the difference in frequencies failed to achieve statistical significance compared with controls. The FFA group had significantly lower frequency of hair shampooing, oral contraceptive use, hair coloring, and facial hair removal compared with controls. FFA subjects more often had thyroid disease compared with controls; women with FFA had a high frequency of positive patch tests, mainly to fragrances.

"Our findings suggest an association between FFA and the use of facial skin care products," the authors write. "The high frequency of sunscreen use in patients with FFA, and the fact that many facial skin care products now contain sunscreens, raises the possibility of a causative role for sunscreen chemicals."