Anti-Ageing 101 for Women of Colour
Written by: Deepa Somasunderam
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Looking for anti-ageing tips for melanin-rich skin? You’ve come to the right place.
Everyone ages - that’s just a biological fact. But it's useful to understand why and how your skin ages and most importantly, what you can do to prevent ageing and treat ageing in your skin.
To help us find the best anti-ageing advice for melanin-rich skin, we spoke to an industry expert, Dr. Sindhu Siddiqi who specializes in providing aesthetic anti-ageing treatments.
Dr. Siddiqi helps us understand how melanin-rich women age, how to protect our skin and the latest anti-ageing treatments in the market.
Dr Sindhu Siddiqi is the founder of No Filter Clinic in Kensington, London.
She qualified as a doctor from Imperial College London with a distinction in Clinical Practice and a BSc in Endocrinology. Following this, she undertook training in aesthetic medicine. Dr Siddiqi and all injectors in her team are registered with the GMC, GDC and NMC.
Does ethnicity in women affect aging?
A big question and something many women think about. The answer is yes. Your ethnicity does have a relationship with the way you age but a better way to approach this question is to understand your skin composition and why your skin behaves the way it does.
Before we begin, it's useful to understand what the term “ageing” actually refers to.
What does it mean when skin ages?
Clinically, ageing is described as features of wrinkles, sunspots, uneven skin color, and sagging skin.
There are two forms of ageing: intrinsic ageing and extrinsic ageing.
Intrinsic ageing reflects your genetic background and occurs with the passing of time (so think of it as your natural ageing process from within). Extrinsic ageing refers to external factors such as your sun exposure, diet and lifestyle habits.
Does skin of colour age slower?
Yes, it does. Siddiqi tells us “melanin can be thought of as an in-built sunscreen so people of colour age on average 10 years slower than Caucasians. The higher levels of melanin act as antioxidants and get rid of free radicals that cause ageing.”
One very early study that compared melanin photoprotection between black and caucasian skin tones explained, “Melanin acts as a neutral density filter, reducing all wavelengths of light equally. The superior photoprotection of black epidermis is due not only to increased melanin content but also to other factors related to packaging and distribution of melanosomes.”
Other recent scientific studies elaborate on this and allow us to understand this further.
Skin of colour has more Eumelanin
With extrinsic ageing, sun exposure is considered the most important factor and skin of colour is less vulnerable to sun damage due to the type of melanin we have in our skin.
There are two types of melanin in human skin: eumelanin and pheomelanin. It is the ratio of these melanin types that determines race and the Fitzpatrick skin phototype of people (i.e. the ratio of eumelanin and pheomelanin is a factor that affects skin colour).
Eumelanin is dark ranging from black to brown whereas pheomelanin is a red or yellow pigment which is predominant in lighter skin tones. In short, darker skin tones have more eumelanin which is much more photoprotective than pheomelanin so as a result, the clinical effects of extrinsic ageing typically appear 10 to 20 years later in skin of colour than those of age-matched white counterparts.
Generally, signs of ageing show up slower in skin of colour
Studies also show that people of colour show less severe intrinsic facial ageing with signs of ageing appearing almost ten years after lighter skin types.
Aging Skin Issues in Women of Colour
Before we consider how to prevent skin ageing, it's useful to look at the causes and signs of ageing in skin of colour.
Causes of ageing in darker skin tones
There are no specific or different causes of ageing in skin of colour than caucasian skin. Siddiqi advises, “Causes of ageing are the same as they would be for caucasian skin. i.e, high UV exposure, smoking, poor diet, genetics, hormone changes.”
Signs of ageing in darker skin tones
Some signs of ageing in darker skin tones are:
Hyperpigmentation (darker spots) or hypopigmentation (lighter spots)
Mottled pigmentation or patchy skin
Rough skin
Dermatosis papulosa nigra, which is a harmless condition where small, dark bumps appear on your face and neck.
Seborrheic keratoses, harmless wart-like growths on the skin
Solar lentigines, a type of liver spot
Darker skin tones are still susceptible to sun damage
Siddiqi also says, “Despite having melanin, it is still important for darker skin to use photoprotection with sunscreen. This will not only further slow down things like wrinkles, volume loss and sagging but also protect from pigmentation which is also a sign of ageing in darker skin.”
Anti-aging Skincare Products
Yep, you already know it. Prevention is better than cure.
Let’s start with products and see what products you can use to take care of your skin early.
Get the right sunscreen
You need to protect yourself from UVB rays, UVA rays and also visible light. Generally, a tinted mineral sunscreen that contains iron oxide will be your best bet to protect your skin from visible light as well as UVB and UVA rays.
Siddiqi explains that “Photoprotection is the foundation of ageing prevention. Melanin rich skin with hyperpigmentation is not just affected by UVB and UVA rays, it is also affected by visible light.” Therefore, the sunscreen you choose should provide protection against all three of these elements: UVB rays, UVA rays and visible light.
Which sunscreens are the best for this? Siddiqi advises that “sunscreens need to have cover for all three [UVB, UVA and visible light and typically mineral sunscreens have better coverage for visible light than chemical sunscreens.”
Unfortunately, mineral sunscreens come with the “white cast” problem, a well-documented beauty issue for women of colour.
But Siddiqi solves the problem for us by providing two options. To avoid the white casts mineral sunscreens typically give, she advises us to get:
Tinted mineral sunscreens: “Look for tinted mineral sunscreens that contain iron oxide which further protects from visible light.”
A mixed sunscreen: “You can also go for a mixed chemical and mineral sunscreen which are becoming more popular.”
You need sunscreen every day
Unfortunately, it is common amongst people of colour to pay less importance to sunscreen but we need sunscreen every single day.
Siddiqi confirms this saying, “please use good sunscreen DAILY. Many women of colour do not use this daily as they do not think it is important for their skin type. It is still the most important environmental factor for ageing. Not just wrinkles but also loss of firmness, sagging and volume loss. Furthermore, the very common issue for melanin-rich women (and men!) is pigmentation and no amount of skincare or in-clinic treatments will give you as much long-term benefit as sunscreen.”
Over-the-counter products
You may also be wondering what ingredients to look out for when you buy your skincare products such as anti-ageing creams, night creams, serums and exfoliators.
Siddiqi tells us, “ingredients that have a lot of evidence for anti-ageing are retinol, AHA and PHA.”
Anti-aging Skincare Treatments
Now you can also access more advanced treatments and procedures in-office (i.e. in a dermatologist or aesthetician’s clinic) and a professional can advise you on what is best for your skin.
So let’s look at when melanin-rich women need to start thinking about in-office treatments, what sort of treatments can be available and what precautions we need to take.
Siddiqi administers many of these treatments at the No Filter Clinic so she is best placed to advise us on this.
Start early
“Our peak collagen is around 20 and 30 is typically when it starts dropping,” Siddiqi explains. “With time, everyone will lose collagen but if you start from a higher store, the ageing process will be slower for you.”
You can start your treatments as early as 20s to 30s. Siddiqi says, “So any treatments that stimulate collagen are good from late 20s to 30s. Skin peels and microneedling are very helpful and popular with younger patients.”
Choosing the right peels
When you have melanin-rich skin, make sure the skin peels you choose actually work for your skin and ensure the peels are not too strong.
Siddiqi advises, “The peels have to be suitable for darker skin otherwise there is a risk of pigmentation so be careful with these and avoid very strong peels, especially in hot countries.”
So especially if you live in a hot or tropical climate, ensure that you are aware of the strength of your skin peel before you use it to avoid the risk of hyperpigmentation.
Over 35s
As you get older, you may need to advance to machine-based treatments.
“From 35 and above consider investing in machine based treatments such as radiofrequency or HIFU for tightening your skin” Siddiqi says. “Some lasers are safe for darker skin and the non ablative fractional laser or near infrared are some examples.”
Injectables
Injectables are exactly that: they are injections applied to your face which contain treatments and Siddiqi tells us that “there are many injectable treatments that are suitable for all skin types.”
Botulinum Toxin
The most famous injectable is Botox (a popular brand name for botulinum toxin).
Siddiqi explains, “For upper face wrinkles, botulinum toxin is still the most effective treatment we have. It does not stimulate collagen but it does have a preventative effect in slowing down wrinkle formation.”
Fillers
Another injectable that is commonly used for anti-ageing needs is fillers. Fillers are substances that are injected into the face to give substance and volume.
Siddiqi advises that “fillers can be made of many things such as silicone and collagen but that is exceptionally rare these days due to the reactions patients have and reactions could happen years down the line. Nearly all fillers these days are made of hyaluronic acid and at our clinic, we only use hyaluronic acid fillers.”
Profhilo
No Filter Clinic says that currently “Profhilo is one of the most popular injectable skin treatments on the market right now.”
Profhilo is unique because it is not a filler and it is not a skin booster either. The No Filter Clinic explains that Profhilo contains the highest concentration of hyaluronic acid and stimulates the production of your own collagen. Unlike fillers, it does not add volume to the face at all and goes much deeper than skin boosters.
However, Profhilo cannot be used on the forehead.
Skin Boosters
Siddiqi also says there are “a range of skin boosters for hydrating the skin and stimulating collagen.”
The No Filter Clinic explains that skin boosters deliver hyaluronic acid and antioxidants into the superficial layers of the skin and they stimulate collagen and some boosters can even help brighten your skin. Skin boosters promote hydration, tighten pores and help to improve fine lines and scarring.
This can give you glowing skin and No Filter Clinic report that many people feel they do not need to use make up after this treatment and comment on the “glass skin effect.”
When to get injectables
But some people may be afraid of injectables. Let’s admit it, there is something scary about injecting your face. So we asked Siddiqi, who has administered many injectables to clients, how to decide if this treatment is right for you.
It's a personal decision and you should only get injectables if you feel ready. Siddiqi advises, “This is very personal. Some people feel ready in their 20s but some prefer waiting till their 40s or 50s.”
But there are benefits to getting them early.
Siddiqi tells us, “one thing to say about injectables is that like anything, prevention is better than cure. Once you already have wrinkles that have set in and loss of elasticity, there is very little we can do with injectables or in fact any other treatments. It is generally better to start when you have early signs of ageing.”
Siddiqi concludes with the best advice: “But only do injectables when you feel psychologically ready. There is still a stigma attached to it but if done properly, they are extremely safe.”
For women of colour, finding an aesthetic practitioner to provide safe treatments can be especially challenging so Siddiqi advises, “see someone who has experience with people of colour” and to “go with a word of mouth recommendation if possible.”
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Kaidbey KH, Agin PP, Sayre RM, Kligman AM. Photoprotection by melanin--a comparison of black and Caucasian skin. J Am Acad Dermatol. 1979 Sep;1(3):249-60. doi: 10.1016/s0190-9622(79)70018-1. PMID: 512075.
Vashi NA, de Castro Maymone MB, Kundu RV. Aging Differences in Ethnic Skin. J Clin Aesthet Dermatol. 2016 Jan;9(1):31-8. PMID: 26962390; PMCID: PMC4756870; Solano F. Photoprotection and Skin Pigmentation: Melanin-Related Molecules and Some Other New Agents Obtained from Natural Sources. Molecules. 2020 Mar 27;25(7):1537. doi: 10.3390/molecules25071537. PMID: 32230973; PMCID: PMC7180973.
