Skin barrier structures vary with race, ethnicity

Skin barrier structure differs between racial and ethnic groups, leading to a need for specialized treatment approaches, according to a poster presented at the South Beach Symposium Medical Dermatology Summit.

“Multiple studies have compared skin barrier properties between different racial/ethnic populations,” Andrew F. Alexis, MD, MPH, director of the Skin of Color Center, chair of the department of dermatology at Mount Sinai Morningside and Mount Sinai West, and professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and colleagues wrote. “This project sought to help clarify the existing published data and provide consensus statements on variations in skin barrier properties in skin of color.”

A panel of seven U.S. dermatologists gathered virtually to discuss racial and ethnic barrier structure differences using a modified Delphi process.

Six consensus statements were developed from this process. They found skin hydration, roughness and other properties can be grouped into genetic, environmental and individual factors, and that skin barrier differences can contribute to variations in atopic dermatitis, xerosis and pruritis severity.

In addition, ceramide levels and filaggrin null mutations can be affected by these variations.

Black skin was found to have several unique structural properties.

“There is a need for robust clinical studies to understand and quantify ethnic differences in skin properties, including the complex relationship between skin permeability and other characteristics,” the authors wrote. “Diversity of skin properties and cultural perceptions of skin, such as ‘ashy skin’ in Black populations and sensitive skin in East Asian populations, should be considered in the development and selection of skin care products.”