Black skin is sensitive and prone to inflammation. A recent study revealed that acne is the most common skin problem in African American skin. This explains why many black people suffer from acne. Excessive oil on the skin, dead skin cell build-up and bacteria all contribute to form clogged pores. The pore fills with the debris and forms whiteheads or blackheads. More severe forms of acne are acne nodules and acne cysts. Treatment has to be gentle or the skin becomes even more inflamed.

 

 

When black skin is ashy, it is usually the result of very dry skin. The body regularly sloughs off dead skin cells. This occurs in every race. However, with black skin, the dead skin flakes are more noticeable. The skin gets a grayish or ashy look on the surface. Regular moisturizing or a gentle scrub can reduce the ashiness.

Dermatosis Papulosa Nigra is a skin growth that appears in roughly one-third of the black population. The growths are harmless, but noticeable since they mostly appear on the face and neck. The growths are very small, raised, smooth and often a lot darker than the surrounding skin. More than twice as many women get these growths as men. For most black people the growths begin in adolescence and continue to increase in number as a person ages. The growths also run in families.

 

Keloids are raised, thick and darkened scars on the skin. Keloids are scar tissue that forms after the skin has been wounded or injured. Black skin does not heal well after traumas such as body piercings, deep cuts or burns. Scar tissue forms over the wound to protect and heal it, but in some black people, the connective tissue overproduces scar tissue and a keloid forms.

 

Lichenification is the result of excessive scratching or rubbing of itchy skin. In some cases, the itching is due to other skin conditions such as eczema or dermatitis. In other situations, a black person has itchy skin as a result of stress. Lichenification appears as darkened and thick patches on the areas where the person frequently scratches such as the legs, arms and back of the neck. It is a harmless condition.

 

Melasma is a skin condition that often occurs during pregnancy. Although women are more susceptible to melasma, men get it also. And women don't have to be pregnant to suffer from the pigmentation problem. The condition often appears after age 40. Melasma forms dark parches on the face, especially on the forehead and cheeks.

 

Pityriasis Alba affects mostly black children on the face and arms although it can appear on other areas of the body. The condition causes scaly patches on the skin that are round and light in color. With steroid cream, the patches are usually treatable.

 

PIH (or dark spots) is a darkening of the skin due to trauma such as insect bites, burns or surgical cuts. Inflammatory skin conditions such as acne and eczema also cause pigmentation problems in black skin. As the skin heals, the wound area becomes darker in skin tone. The body overproduces melanin, or skin pigment, which causes the darker skin. These dark spots fade, but it takes a long time.

 

Pseudofolliculitis barbae is more commonly known as razor bumps. It is a condition that affects a large percentage of black men, but women can also suffer from it. Razor bumps occur because black people have a curved hair shaft. Once the hair tip is shaved or cut, the rest of the hair goes back into the hair follicle causing bumps. For black women these razor bumps most often occur around the chin.

 

Vitiligo is a skin condition that affects every race. But this disorder is most noticeablein black people. Vitiligo is the loss of skin pigment or melanin. Just as an overproduction of melanin causes hyperpigmentation or dark spots on the skin, the destruction of melanin leads to the loss of skin color. If the melanin cells are damaged, destroyed or stop producing pigment, patches of skin start to lose pigment. Over time the patches of colorless skin grow larger. Vitiligo usually occurs on the face, hands and chest, but can appear anywhere on the body.

 

Black skin care depends on whether or not you suffer from common skin conditions or if an injury or trauma to the skin causes hyperpigmentation or keloids. Some diseases are heredity, while others may be the result of stress. The best way for African-American women to develop an effective skin care routine that treats these conditions is to consult a doctor and also to treat the skin gently.