TikTok ‘excellent opportunity’ for dermatologists to create skin of color content

Key takeaways:

• Of the 198 videos analyzed, 57.1% were education-based content.
• 18.7% of posts were created by dermatologists.

While TikTok posts containing dermatological content for people with skin of color were found to be mostly educational, the majority of videos were not created by dermatologists, according to a study.

“The role of social media in patient education cannot be overlooked,” Janeth R. Campbell, MS, of Georgetown University School of Medicine, and colleagues wrote, stating that 80% of users in the United States search online for health information and advice. One such platform that patients turn to for health information is TikTok, according to the researchers.

Prior studies have found that educational videos dominate the dermatologic content on TikTok, with 48% of those videos being posted by patients and 25.8% by dermatologists. However, no study has analyzed if these figures change when specifically accounting for TikTok videos about dermatological care for patients with skin of color.

“We sought to examine if these results would differ when the search is adjusted to hashtags specific to Black skin,” Campbell and colleagues wrote.

In October 2021, an investigator searched hashtags on TikTok that included #BlackSkinCare, #BlackSkinTreatment, #BlackSkinAdvice and #BlackSkinCareTips. The term “skin of color” was omitted as this term is almost exclusively used by dermatologists in a clinical setting, according to the study.

Of the 198 videos analyzed, 57.1% were deemed educational content and 23.2% were considered accounts of personal experiences. Additionally, 9.6% of the videos were clinical demonstrations and live procedures, 5.6% were business or advertisement related and 4.5% were entertainment or humor related.

Also, 54% of the videos were posted by vloggers or individuals from personal accounts, whereas 18.7% were posted by dermatologists. Estheticians were the third most popular content creator at 16.2%, followed by businesses and industries at 8.6%.

More than half of the videos (54.5%) focused on general skincare as opposed to disease-specific treatment. However, of the videos that addressed disease-specific treatment, 22.7% focused on hyperpigmentation, acne scares and sunspots.

“These data reveal which skin concerns in Black skin are most popular on TikTok, with dark spots and hyperpigmentation being the leading concern,” Campbell and colleagues wrote.

Content related to acne in patients with skin of color comprised 12.1% of posts followed by videos about ingrown hair/razor bumps (3.5%) and skin texture/open pores (3.5%).

“It is encouraging that most of the dermatologic content relating to Black skin on TikTok is educational,” the researchers concluded. “This finding, combined with TikTok’s growing popularity, makes TikTok an excellent opportunity for board-certified dermatologists to provide users with accurate information regarding dermatologic conditions in Black skin.”