African American Skin Care

The pigmentation of skin does not really play any role in the type of skin condition that may occur. However, in the case of African American skin care as well as with other dark complexions, there are a few problems involving skin care that are more prevalent.

Take acne, for instance, which is a chronic disorder that has the characteristic of excess production of oil from sebaceous glands that result in hair follicles on the face, chest as well as back to become plugged. For African Americans, acne can cause long lasting discoloration of the skin and one needs to use topical agents that will greatly reduce skin irritation.

A common African American skin care issue concerns ingrown hairs. Because African Americans have curly hair with curved hair shafts that also occur in their beards and other body hair, shaving may cause, the hair to be prone to curling back into the skin. This in turn causes piercing in the wall of the hair follicle, which results in bumps that are known as pseudofolliculitis barbae. In such cases, skin care would involve trying special kinds of safety razors that stretch the skin while shaving.

African American skin care also needs to treat variations in skin color. African American skin consists of large melanosomes, which are the cells that determine the color of the skin. These contain more of the pigment melanin as compared to those found in white skinned people. The protective effect of melanin causes African Americans to have more protection against skin cancer as well as prevents premature wrinkling as a result of exposure to the sun. As a result African American skin care requires that they should not scrub the skin harshly and also avoid abrasive treatments.

A common African American skin condition is known as Vitiligo, in which the pigment cells get destroyed and there are irregular white patches appearing on the skin. The amount of loss of color is different from person to person and there are also instances of people losing pigment all over their bodies. Skin care methods involve using topical medications that include corticosteroids, as well as new non-steroid anti-inflammatory preparations. When vitiligo is present all over the body, it may be most advisable to destroy the normal pigment that remains and one needs to see a dermatologist for further treatment.

Another common African American skin care issue is called keloids and this refers to when a scar from a cut or wound spreads beyond the size of the original wound. Keloids may occur in different sizes, shapes and locations and are very common in brown and black skinned people. The skin care procedure for keloids is to take cortisone injections or silicone gels, get surgery or laser treatments or even radiation therapy. However, keloids may return and even become larger, especially following surgical treatment.

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