Microneedling is a very simple, safe, effective, and minimally invasive therapeutic technique. It was initially introduced for skin rejuvenation, however, now it is being used for a very wide range of indications including acne scar, acne, post-traumatic/burn scar, alopecia, skin rejuvenation, drug delivery, hyperhidrosis, stretch marks, and many more. Moreover, during the last 10 years, many new innovations have been made to the initial instrument, which was used for microneedling. This technique can be combined with other surgical techniques to provide better results. In particular, it is a very safe technique for dark skin types, where risk of postinflammatory pigmentation is very high with other techniques that damage the epidermis. In this review article, we are updating on the different instruments now available for this procedure, and its efficacy when performed alone or in combination with other techniques for various indications.

Summary Background Growing use of cosmetics has led to an increase in the incidence of allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) to cosmetics. Patch testing helps to confirm allergy to cosmetics and pinpoint the exact offending allergens. Aims and Objectives The study aimed to find the frequency of positive patch test reactions in cases with suspected ACD to cosmetics, and the common allergens responsible for it. Methods This is a retrospective record‐based study of 58 patients, with suspected ACD to cosmetics, who had undergone patch testing with Indian standard series and Indian cosmetic and fragrance series from January 2013 to December 2015. Results The majority of patients (60.34%) belonged to the age group of 20‐40 years. The most common site of involvement was face (94.8%) followed by neck (22.4%). The most commonly implicated cosmetics in history were soaps (53.4%), and face creams (24.1%). The most common allergens detected on patch testing were cetrimide (20.7%) and thimerosal (15.5%) followed by paraphenylenediamine (6.9%), and fragrance mix (5.2). Positive allergic reactions were obtained in 2.12% of the patches. Conclusion Most common cosmetic products implicated for causing ACD were face creams, soaps, and hair dyes. The principal culprit allergens were cetrimide and thimerosal.

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DescriptionA 22-year-old woman presented with complaints of gradually progressive yellowish asymptomatic papules coalescing to form plaques over the lateral aspects of the neck since last 3 years. There were no associated systemic complaints. No similar complaints were noted in any of the family members. Systemic examination was normal while mucocutaneous examination revealed the presence of symmetrically distributed yellowish monomorphic papules arranged in a linear and reticulate manner on both sides of the neck, axillae and periumbilical area (figure 1). These plaques were confluent at most of the places, occasionally studded with telangiectasias and had a pebble-like feel on palpation with poor elastic recoil. Polarised light dermoscopy at ×10 magnification of these plaques showed multiple irregular yellowish areas alternating with multiple linear vessels. These yellowish plaques coalesced to form parallel strands ( figure 2A). The fundus examination was within normal limits except diffuse pigmentary degeneration (figure 2B). The routine urine and stool examination revealed no occult blood, and echocardiography was normal. Histological evaluation of the plaque showed multiple fragmented, clumped, short, curled, basophilic elasticfibres in the mid-dermis in a ravelled ball appearance (figure 2C,D). 1 A final diagnosis of pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) was made. Similar dermoscopic findings have been observed by Lacarrubba et al. 2 PXE is a rare hereditary disease affecting connective tissue and causing mineralisation of elastic fibres in the skin, eyes, cardiovascular system and digestive system with an incidence of 1 in 50 000 people. 3 We propose that dermoscopy could be a useful tool for a non-invasive prompt diagnosis of PXE for early detection and intervention.contributors All authors have contributed substantially and sufficiently to the data collection and completion of this article. AS: data collection and compilation (patient management and dermoscopy), writing and reporting the paper. NB: conception and conduct of the report, supervising and writing the paper. AB: data collection and writing the paper (ophthalmoscopy). Dermoscopy of pseudoxanthoma elasticum