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| Right: After application of Microskin™ Left: Patient with vitiligo, a skin disorder that causes loss of pigment. |
A Queensland woman with no scientific or medical background has invented a world-first product which successfully camouflages skin affected by burns, scars, birthmarks and other debilitating conditions.
Linda Lowndes spent seven years developing Microskin, a spray-on simulated skin made from a formulation which colour-corrects each person's individual skin condition.
Unlike ordinary make-up, previously the choice of people who wanted to hide scarring or other skin conditions, Microskin looks and feels natural, will not rub off and adheres to the skin for days. Patients can swim, shower, play sport or even shave while wearing it.
"Best of all it gives people freedom and helps them regain their confidence," says Linda.
"It's hard enough coping with disfigurement, let alone being subjected to unwanted attention and ridicule. This makes a real difference to their lives."
Linda's commitment to finding a successful formula involved a rigorous study of cosmetic chemistry, research into other camouflage products, collaboration with an industrial chemist, tests involving thousands of colours and clinical trials over four years.
"I had a lot of setbacks but I finally found the missing link I needed to devise a computer system that could colour-correct the affected skin."
Researchers at the Stuart Pegg Paediatric Burns Centre at Brisbane's Royal Children's Hospital in collaboration with the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Queensland conducted a three-month trial on Microskin earlier this year.
The trial aimed to assess the effect of Microskin technology on the emotional and behavioural functioning of 20 paediatric burns patients.
The research showed Microskin was a significant breakthrough for the psychological damage that burns can cause.
Eighty per cent of the children felt happier or mostly happier when they had Microskin covering their scars and more than 90 per cent could not feel it on their skin at all or rarely.
Lilly Yang, whose face was scarred after a house fire when she was a baby, was one of the children who took part in the trial.
Like many other children whose faces and bodies have been scarred Lilly suffered emotional difficulties in the years since the accident, including teasing at school and a lack of confidence.
Linda began to develop a small client base for the product two years ago.
Thanks to increasing demand, she now operates from a purpose-built clinic at Wavell Heights in Brisbane and her clients include Australians of all ages and people from overseas who want to try the product.
The clinic offers a two-day course during which clients are colour-corrected to cater for their skin condition and trained to apply the product properly. A sample of each client's product is retained for easy re-ordering.
Microskin costs from $605 for a product suitable for a small area of skin to $3300 including a two-day training course for the spray-on product.
Linda has hired extra staff and established a call centre to handle enquiries from people interested in trying the product and she plans to increase the number of clinics to cope with demand.
"I want to make a difference to people's lives, not just in Australia, but around the world."
Microskin recently won the AMP Innovation Award in the 2006 Telstra Business Awards.
Contact: info@microskin.com.au
Last reviewed 16 October 2006