Over half of women in Ireland have some sort of skin condition and many of these feel embarrassed and have poor self-esteem as a result, a new survey has revealed.

One in four has even faced abusive comments over their looks, according to the findings.

The survey of over 500 women nationwide revealed that over half (288) had some kind of skin condition, such as eczema or acne, while the remainder did not.

Among these, one-quarter had received insults or abusive comments about how they looked, while over half admitted that their skin had a negative impact on their daily lives. They felt shame and embarrassment, and had low self-esteem and confidence.

Some 40% of those with skin conditions admitted to avoiding activities like dating or socialising if they were having a bad skin day, while 14% believed that people avoided them because of the way they looked.

Around 40% also said that their skin stopped them from doing things like getting a job, getting promoted in work or finding love, while 23% admitted feeling down about their looks.

The survey was carried out in September by iReach on behalf of SEQuaderma.