Covering vitiligo: camouflage, self-tanner, and your choices

Skin camouflage means highly pigmented products made for long-lasting cover. A concealer off a shelf is a different thing, and the two are not interchangeable.

I read the British Association of Dermatologists leaflet on skin camouflage. It says camouflage products differ from ordinary makeup, are often water resistant, and are usually set with a fixing powder or spray. It says the concealers and mineral powders sold in supermarkets, chemists and department stores may help with minor discoloration and may not work as well as camouflage products.

I looked up the NHS durability figures for camouflage creams: up to 4 days on the body, and 12 to 18 hours on the face. The NHS publishes no figure for ordinary makeup. Neither source counts how many people get those numbers, so they describe the product rather than predict your day.

Camouflage changes the color you see. Neither source claims it changes the texture or surface of skin.

Sources for the facts above: ⌁ Evidence⌁ Evidence

Some of it can. Camouflage is made to stay put and the British Association of Dermatologists says plainly that it should not be considered totally rub-proof.

Transfer onto clothing, furnishings and bed linen may happen, and the leaflet says standard household cleaning products remove it in most cases. Setting the product with a fixing powder or a light fixing spray is what it describes as holding it in place.

I checked both sources on water, and they do not use the same word. The NHS calls camouflage creams waterproof. The leaflet says often water resistant, enough for activities such as swimming without fear of it washing off. Those describe the same class of product with different strength, so swimming is worth testing on a day that does not matter rather than counting on.

Sources for the facts above: ⌁ Evidence⌁ Evidence

Colors come pre-mixed and can be blended to match your skin, and there are people trained to do that with you.

The British Association of Dermatologists says trained skin camouflage advisers work inside the NHS. It puts them in outpatient clinics, and in units such as dermatology or plastic surgery. It says they also work in the private sector. It says one layer is usually enough over the affected area, and that a second can go on when it is not.

In the UK a GP may refer you to a skin camouflage service. The NHS says that service is free, that you are trained in using the creams, and that some creams can be prescribed. The leaflet adds two things worth knowing before you ask. Access can be restricted or denied by local policy. A prescriber needs the brand, color code and size agreed at your camouflage consultation.

Both of those are UK routes. I could not establish from either source what is available anywhere else, or what any of it costs where you live.

Sources for the facts above: ⌁ Evidence⌁ Evidence

Skin camouflage is not for an undiagnosed skin condition, and not for skin that is infected, inflamed, blistered or broken.

The British Association of Dermatologists lists vitiligo, birthmarks and healed scars among the conditions camouflage suits, and lists undiagnosed skin conditions among those it does not. If nobody has looked at a white patch yet, covering it is a step that comes after that, not instead of it.

The same leaflet says to remove camouflage daily, with soap and water, a soap substitute, or an oil-based cleanser. It says to avoid aggressive scrubbing, because that can irritate the skin. The reason it gives for a daily routine is that it lets you look at the skin and see whether anything has changed.

Sources for the facts above: ⌁ Evidence

A lasting procedure is a different decision from temporary makeup or self-tanner. It deserves a dermatologist conversation before you commit.

Ask how the procedure affects skin, how color may change over time, what happens if nearby skin changes, and what risks apply to your vitiligo. A cosmetic provider should not be the only person helping you judge a medical skin risk.

One of those risks has a name. Tattooing wounds skin, and for some people new patches follow an injury. I read the American Academy of Dermatology page on vitiligo self-care. It names the wound a tattoo makes, and says new spots can show up about 10 to 14 days later. Nothing tells you in advance whether your own skin does this. That is the question to put to a dermatologist, rather than to the person doing the procedure.

Sources for the facts above: ⌁ Evidence

Do not guess about what should be on your skin before prescribed light treatment.

Bring every makeup, self-tanner, cream, and skin product to the care-team conversation. Follow the instructions for your exact treatment and device rather than a general routine I could write here.