At a recent educational symposia, AboutFace 2009, The Art and Science of Using Injectable Agents and Energy-based Devices for Facial Aesthetic Enhancement, Cheryl Burgess, M.D., shared her expertise on the use of topical agents in skin of color.

Signs of aging in the ethnic population include an uneven complexion, the loss of volume and skin laxity, epidermal growths and wrinkles. Although skin moisturization, firmness, tone and smoothness are of concerns in the aging population, the main goal with ethnic skin, according to Dr. Burgess, is blending of the complexion to enhance radiance of the skin.

To get great skin results with your ethnic patients, Dr. Burgess offers the following helpful tips:

1. Sun Protection and Vitamin D3 Supplements
Just because an individual’s skin is darker, doesn’t mean it that it doesn’t need to be protected. Sunscreens and sunblocks are an essential component to the anti-aging regimen of the ethnic patient. Dr. Burgess also recommends that her patients take Vitamin D3 supplements. “The latest surveys have found that many US citizens, especially individuals of color, are deficient in Vitamin D3,” reports Dr. Burgess.

2. Anti-Aging Topicals
According to Dr. Burgess, several topicals can be used safely as part of an anti-aging treatment protocol with ethnic skin. These include:
• Glycolic acid
• Salicylic acid
• Mixed glycolic and salicylic acids
• Retinol/Tretinoin
• Peptides
• Antioxidants
• Growth factors

3. Pigment Irregularities
Because blending the complexion is one of the primary goals ethnic skin, it’s critical to know how to deal with epidermal and dermal dyschromias. As Dr. Burgess pointed out in her presentation, you can achieve good outcomes for dermal dyschromia by using:
• Chemical exfoliation
• Microdermabrasion
• Q-switched Nd:Yag 1064 nm laser