Skin conditions are significantly impacted by your skin color, a dermatologist says.
“Ethnicity and skin tone can make a big difference in terms of diagnosis and treatment options with a number of different skin conditions,” said Dr. Amy McMichael, chair of dermatology at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The amount of melanin — the pigment that gives skin its color — can greatly influence a person’s risk of and reaction to many different skin conditions. For example, a fair-skinned person with a low level of melanin has a far higher risk of sunburn than someone with a melanin-rich dark complexion.