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A reader recently wrote to us with the following question:
A certain ad for a skin care line for darker tones claimed that black skin contains "more" collagen. I try to explain to my clients that skin is skin, with some containing a richer concentration of melanin than others, but this seems too simplistic. Am I wrong? How should I answer?
Answer:
You are right that the answers to these questions are difficult and not completely clear. Differences in melanin content and dispersion, accounting for the difference we see in skin color, are well known and easy to demonstrate.
Other differences among skin in different ethnic groups have been studied but are not as easy to explain. While the data is limited, there are more and more studies showing that some differences in skin architecture and physiology among ethnic groups do exist.
These early studies have suggested that the thickness of the skin is the same in light and dark skin, specifically in the epidermis. Darker skin types, however, may have more cornified cell layers and greater lipid content compared to white stratum corneum.
Another study showed statistically significant differences in ceramide and cholesterol ratios for different ethnicities, with Asians having the highest ratio, white skin intermediate, and black skin the lowest (Br. J. Dermatol. 2010;163:1169-73).
With regards to the dermis, darker skin has been found to have more and larger fibroblasts, smaller collagen fiber bundles, and more macrophages than white skin. This may have implications in the development of keloid formation that we sometimes see an increased incidence of in darker skin.
Other differences are summarized in the following tables:
Objective Differences in Skin Structure and Physiology Based on Race (Semin. Cut. Med. Surg. 2009;28:115-2)
| Evidence supports: | Insufficient evidence* for: | Inconclusive: |
| • Increased melanin content and melanosomal dispersion in persons of color • Multinucleated and larger fibroblasts in black persons compared with white persons • pH black < white skin • Larger mast cell granules, increased parallel-linear striations, and increased tryptase localized to parallel-linear striations in black compared to white skin • Variable racial blood vessel reactivity | Racial differences in: • Skin elastic recovery/extensibility • Skin microflora • Facial pore size** | Racial differences in: • Transepidermal water loss • Water content • Corneocyte desquamation • Lipid content |
* Skin elastic recovery/extensibility, skin microflora, and pore size were labeled as ‘insufficient evidence for’ racial differences rather than 'inconclusive' because only two studies or less examined these variables
** Ethnic differences in the structural properties of facial skin. (J. Dermatol. Sci. 2009;53135-9)
Therapeutic Implications of Key Biologic Differences Between Races
| Biologic factor | Therapeutic implications |
|---|---|
| Epidermis •Increased melanin content, melanosomal dispersion in people with skin of color | •Lower rates of skin cancer in people of color •Less pronounced photoaging •Pigmentation disorders |
| Dermis •Multinucleated and larger fibroblasts in black persons compared with white persons | •Greater incidence of keloid formation in black persons compared with white persons |
| Hair •Curved hair follicle/spiral hairtype in black persons •Fewer elastic fibers anchoring hair follicles to dermis in black persons compared with white persons | •Pseudofolliculitis in black persons who shave compared with white persons •Use of hair products (e.g. relaxers) that may lead to hair and scalp disorders in black persons •Alopecia |
Ethnic Differences in Skin Properties. Textbook of Cosmetic Dermatology, 4th edition. 2010, p. 395-404
The bottom line is that differences in ethnic groups do exist, and research is still being done to elucidate what these differences are.
- Naissan Wesley, M.D.
Do you have questions about treating patients with darker skin? If so, send them to [email protected].
A reader recently wrote to us with the following question:
A certain ad for a skin care line for darker tones claimed that black skin contains "more" collagen. I try to explain to my clients that skin is skin, with some containing a richer concentration of melanin than others, but this seems too simplistic. Am I wrong? How should I answer?
Answer:
You are right that the answers to these questions are difficult and not completely clear. Differences in melanin content and dispersion, accounting for the difference we see in skin color, are well known and easy to demonstrate.
Other differences among skin in different ethnic groups have been studied but are not as easy to explain. While the data is limited, there are more and more studies showing that some differences in skin architecture and physiology among ethnic groups do exist.
These early studies have suggested that the thickness of the skin is the same in light and dark skin, specifically in the epidermis. Darker skin types, however, may have more cornified cell layers and greater lipid content compared to white stratum corneum.
Another study showed statistically significant differences in ceramide and cholesterol ratios for different ethnicities, with Asians having the highest ratio, white skin intermediate, and black skin the lowest (Br. J. Dermatol. 2010;163:1169-73).
With regards to the dermis, darker skin has been found to have more and larger fibroblasts, smaller collagen fiber bundles, and more macrophages than white skin. This may have implications in the development of keloid formation that we sometimes see an increased incidence of in darker skin.
Other differences are summarized in the following tables:
Objective Differences in Skin Structure and Physiology Based on Race (Semin. Cut. Med. Surg. 2009;28:115-2)
| Evidence supports: | Insufficient evidence* for: | Inconclusive: |
| • Increased melanin content and melanosomal dispersion in persons of color • Multinucleated and larger fibroblasts in black persons compared with white persons • pH black < white skin • Larger mast cell granules, increased parallel-linear striations, and increased tryptase localized to parallel-linear striations in black compared to white skin • Variable racial blood vessel reactivity | Racial differences in: • Skin elastic recovery/extensibility • Skin microflora • Facial pore size** | Racial differences in: • Transepidermal water loss • Water content • Corneocyte desquamation • Lipid content |
* Skin elastic recovery/extensibility, skin microflora, and pore size were labeled as ‘insufficient evidence for’ racial differences rather than 'inconclusive' because only two studies or less examined these variables
** Ethnic differences in the structural properties of facial skin. (J. Dermatol. Sci. 2009;53135-9)
Therapeutic Implications of Key Biologic Differences Between Races
| Biologic factor | Therapeutic implications |
|---|---|
| Epidermis •Increased melanin content, melanosomal dispersion in people with skin of color | •Lower rates of skin cancer in people of color •Less pronounced photoaging •Pigmentation disorders |
| Dermis •Multinucleated and larger fibroblasts in black persons compared with white persons | •Greater incidence of keloid formation in black persons compared with white persons |
| Hair •Curved hair follicle/spiral hairtype in black persons •Fewer elastic fibers anchoring hair follicles to dermis in black persons compared with white persons | •Pseudofolliculitis in black persons who shave compared with white persons •Use of hair products (e.g. relaxers) that may lead to hair and scalp disorders in black persons •Alopecia |
Ethnic Differences in Skin Properties. Textbook of Cosmetic Dermatology, 4th edition. 2010, p. 395-404
The bottom line is that differences in ethnic groups do exist, and research is still being done to elucidate what these differences are.
- Naissan Wesley, M.D.
Do you have questions about treating patients with darker skin? If so, send them to [email protected].
A reader recently wrote to us with the following question:
A certain ad for a skin care line for darker tones claimed that black skin contains "more" collagen. I try to explain to my clients that skin is skin, with some containing a richer concentration of melanin than others, but this seems too simplistic. Am I wrong? How should I answer?
Answer:
You are right that the answers to these questions are difficult and not completely clear. Differences in melanin content and dispersion, accounting for the difference we see in skin color, are well known and easy to demonstrate.
Other differences among skin in different ethnic groups have been studied but are not as easy to explain. While the data is limited, there are more and more studies showing that some differences in skin architecture and physiology among ethnic groups do exist.
These early studies have suggested that the thickness of the skin is the same in light and dark skin, specifically in the epidermis. Darker skin types, however, may have more cornified cell layers and greater lipid content compared to white stratum corneum.
Another study showed statistically significant differences in ceramide and cholesterol ratios for different ethnicities, with Asians having the highest ratio, white skin intermediate, and black skin the lowest (Br. J. Dermatol. 2010;163:1169-73).
With regards to the dermis, darker skin has been found to have more and larger fibroblasts, smaller collagen fiber bundles, and more macrophages than white skin. This may have implications in the development of keloid formation that we sometimes see an increased incidence of in darker skin.
Other differences are summarized in the following tables:
Objective Differences in Skin Structure and Physiology Based on Race (Semin. Cut. Med. Surg. 2009;28:115-2)
| Evidence supports: | Insufficient evidence* for: | Inconclusive: |
| • Increased melanin content and melanosomal dispersion in persons of color • Multinucleated and larger fibroblasts in black persons compared with white persons • pH black < white skin • Larger mast cell granules, increased parallel-linear striations, and increased tryptase localized to parallel-linear striations in black compared to white skin • Variable racial blood vessel reactivity | Racial differences in: • Skin elastic recovery/extensibility • Skin microflora • Facial pore size** | Racial differences in: • Transepidermal water loss • Water content • Corneocyte desquamation • Lipid content |
* Skin elastic recovery/extensibility, skin microflora, and pore size were labeled as ‘insufficient evidence for’ racial differences rather than 'inconclusive' because only two studies or less examined these variables
** Ethnic differences in the structural properties of facial skin. (J. Dermatol. Sci. 2009;53135-9)
Therapeutic Implications of Key Biologic Differences Between Races
| Biologic factor | Therapeutic implications |
|---|---|
| Epidermis •Increased melanin content, melanosomal dispersion in people with skin of color | •Lower rates of skin cancer in people of color •Less pronounced photoaging •Pigmentation disorders |
| Dermis •Multinucleated and larger fibroblasts in black persons compared with white persons | •Greater incidence of keloid formation in black persons compared with white persons |
| Hair •Curved hair follicle/spiral hairtype in black persons •Fewer elastic fibers anchoring hair follicles to dermis in black persons compared with white persons | •Pseudofolliculitis in black persons who shave compared with white persons •Use of hair products (e.g. relaxers) that may lead to hair and scalp disorders in black persons •Alopecia |
Ethnic Differences in Skin Properties. Textbook of Cosmetic Dermatology, 4th edition. 2010, p. 395-404
The bottom line is that differences in ethnic groups do exist, and research is still being done to elucidate what these differences are.
- Naissan Wesley, M.D.
Do you have questions about treating patients with darker skin? If so, send them to [email protected].