Silicone sheet containing all-trans retinoic acid and hydroquinone for the treatment of epidermal melanosis.

BACKGROUND

Although bleaching treatment using all-trans retinoic acid (RA) and hydroquinone (HQ) improves epidermal melanosis, the application of two medications and the irritant dermatitis induced by RA inconvenience patients. To overcome these problems, we developed a silicone sheet containing RA and HQ.

OBJECTIVE

To compare the efficacy of a silicone sheet containing RA and HQ with that of conventional bleaching treatment.

METHOD: Silicone sheets containing 1% RA and 5% HQ were applied at night during the bleaching phase of 4 weeks, followed by application of sheets containing 5% HQ during the healing phase of 4 weeks. Hemifacial epidermal melanosis, for which the sheets were applied, was compared with a contralateral face which was treated conventionally using RA and HQ. Twenty-four Japanese women who were enrolled in this study and followed up for more than 6 months were analyzed.

RESULTS

RA/HQ sheets improved epidermal melanosis, as did the conventional bleaching method, but irritant dermatitis occurred less in patients treated using silicone sheets.

CONCLUSION

RA/HQ sheets, which are easily applied to face skin, can improve epidermal melanosis to the same extent as conventional bleaching.