Publication:

Awareness and usage pattern of cosmeceuticals among undergraduate medical students and their dermatological concerns

Background Cosmetic products have become an integral part of daily life across all age groups and socioeconomic strata. Medical students are expected to possess adequate knowledge regarding cosmetic safety and evidence-based skincare practices. Present study attempts to assess their awareness and usage pattern of cosmetic and skin care products with associated factors.

Methods A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted during August 2025 to December 2025 among 241 undergraduate medical students using Google forms.

Results Study included 153 (63.5%) females and 88 (36.5%) males. Advertisements and social media were the primary sources of awareness regarding cosmetic products (41.9%) with significantly higher proportion of females (P=0.003). followed by. Whereas, family members (24.9%) being the second most common source and significantly higher proportion of males relied on it (p=0.005). Awareness of skincare products was 53.1% and overall user rate of these products was 41.9%, with sunscreen being the most recognized (17.8%) and frequently used (19.1%) product. Acne, blackheads, and whiteheads were the most common skincare concerns reported by 34.0% students, and cosmetic use was mainly for the purpose of treating these conditions reported by 61.8% of users. Overall, 58.1% of users experienced at least one cosmetic-related adverse reaction with no significant gender differential.

Conclusions Cosmetic use was highly prevalent among medical students mainly due to influence of social media and advertisements. More than half of the users reported cosmetic-related adverse effects. Study suggests the need to strengthen cosmetovigilance and to integrate cosmetic safety education into medical training.