Objective To explore the effect of skin cosmetic nursing in burn patients during vacuum sealing drainage treatment period. Methods A total of 40 burn patients admitted to our hospital from January 2019 to October 2023 were selected as the research objects. They were divided into control group and observation group by random number table method, with 20 patients in each group. All patients were treated with vacuum sealing drainage. The control group was treated with basic nursing, and the observation group was treated with skin cosmetic nursing. The scar condition, psychological feeling, aesthetic repair effect, complications and nursing satisfaction of the two groups were compared. Results The scores of softness, color, thickness and vascular distribution in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P <0.05). The scores of emotional impairment, social interaction, self-perception defect, appearance concern, appearance cognition, appearance change, body image disorder inducement and objective evaluation in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P <0.05). The total effective rate of aesthetic repair in the observation group was 100.00%, which was higher than 80.00% of the control group (P <0.05). The incidence of complications in the observation group was 0, which was lower than 25.00% in the control group (P <0.05). The nursing satisfaction of the observation group was 95.00 %, which was higher than 70.00 % of the control group (P <0.05). Conclusion Skin cosmetic nursing has a definite application effect in burn patients during vacuum sealing drainage treatment period, which can reduce the scar of the wound and improve the patient's adverse emotions. Meanwhile, it is conducive to improving the aesthetic repair effect and nursing satisfaction, reducing the risk of complications.