It is known that cosmetics and skin care products can
cause adverse skin reactions. However, the frequency of
adverse reactions reported to the Medical Product
Agency (MPA) in Sweden is low. The purpose of the
present study was to evaluate the occurrence of adverse
skin reactions to cosmetics among patients referred for
standard patch testing owing to suspected contact
dermatitis in general, most frequently hand eczema.
Consecutive patients at four patch test clinics in Sweden
were invited to participate; 1075 were included. Of these,
47.3% (54.2% women and 30.8% men) reported current
or previous adverse skin reactions to cosmetics and skin
care products. This group showed significantly more
positive patch test reactions, a higher prevalence of atopic
dermatitis and the dermatitis was more frequently located
in the face and neck region. Our results show that
patients referred for standard patch testing have – or
have had – a large proportion of self-reported adverse
reactions to cosmetics or skin care products. We conclude
that among patients with suspected contact dermatitis,
adverse reactions to cosmetics can be a more important
aetiological and/or complicating factor than is commonly
acknowledged and that the reporting of such reactions to
the MPA probably can be improved. Key words: contact
dermatitis; patch testing; cosmetics and skin care
products; adverse reactions; contact allergy.