We measured the quality of life of Japanese patients with acne using the Japanese version of Skindex-16, a semantically equivalent and validated translation of the original version produced by Chren et al. A total of 210 acne patients were enrolled in this study. The results showed that patients with acne experienced more severe emotional effects from their skin disease than functional or symptomatic effects. The scores for emotional aspects were related to the severity of the patients' acne following a prescribed scale, but the scores were high even when the patients only had a few comedones. Akaike's information criterion showed that the scores for symptoms were related to the severity of the patients' acne, and the patients' emotions were related to the interval between clinic visits. To improve patients' quality of life, treatment of comedones should be fully respected. In addition, dermatologists should encourage patients to visit clinics regularly to help them improve the emotional aspects of their quality of life.