Dermoscopy of Facial Dermatoses: An Updated Review

Dermoscopy is an essential, non-invasive diagnostic tool that has transformed the evaluation of pigmented skin lesions and is nowadays also increasingly recognized for its utility in general dermatology. Originally developed for the early detection of melanoma, dermoscopy now aids in diagnosing a wide range of non-neoplastic skin disorders—including inflammatory, infectious, and infiltrative conditions—by revealing morphological features invisible to the naked eye. Among these, facial dermatoses represent a diagnostically challenging group of disorders with overlapping clinical presentations. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the latest literature on dermoscopy in general dermatology, with a specific focus on facial dermatoses. Relevant information for this article was obtained through a comprehensive PubMed search using disease names along with the terms ‘dermoscopy’ and ‘dermatoscopy’. Despite its growing relevance, this field remains underexplored, largely due to the lack of standardized dermoscopic criteria and inconsistent terminology, which pose challenges to broader clinical implementation. Nonetheless, current evidence highlights the promising role played by dermoscopy as an adjunctive diagnostic method, particularly when used by experienced clinicians in combination with detailed patient history and clinical examination. Dermoscopy of facial dermatoses has the potential to significantly improve diagnostic precision in everyday practice. With continued research, greater standardization, and wider clinician training, dermoscopy is well-positioned to become as integral to the diagnosis of inflammatory and infectious dermatoses as it is to skin cancer detection.