Issue link: https://www.ascpskindeepdigital.com/i/1507658
WHEN WE SPEAK OF AGING SKIN, we generally discuss wrinkles, uneven skin color, dark spots or patches, sagging jowls, and benign skin lesions. But the lifelong process of skin aging is far more nuanced than most people realize. The differences in skin aging between lighter and darker complexions is one such example. So, then, why does the aging process differ in darker and lighter-skinned individuals? Simply put, it's a combination of genetics and environment. SKIN TONE AND SUN EXPOSURE A primary cause of aging is exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun. It's widely known that people whose genetics stem from countries closest to the equator typically have darker skin tones, and people whose genetics stem from farther away from the equator typically have lighter skin tones. Skin redness from the sun is usually very evident in people with lighter skin, while it can often go unnoticed in darker skin. If darker skin receives sunburn, scaling and dryness will show rather than erythema. Photoaging (the cumulative detrimental effects of sun exposure) is minimized in darker skin types due to the photoprotective role of melanin—the sun protection factor (SPF) in darker skin is 13.4 compared to 3.4 for lighter skin. UVB ray transmission into darker skin is reported to be 5.7 percent compared to 29.4 percent into lighter skin, and transmission of UVA rays into darker skin is 17.5 percent compared to 55.5 percent into lighter skin. 1 Essentially, this means that UVA rays reach the upper dermis in individuals Skin aging in skin of color by Pamela Springer