Post by Professor Faisal Ali

Is sunscreen needed for skin of colour? Whilst being interviewed by Dr Kiran Morjaria at last week's #BAD2026 conference, one question was whether people with darker skin tones need to apply sunscreen, as they are less likely to burn and less likely to develop skin cancer- incidentally, the same question asked by Luxmy Gopal when I appeared on BBC News #BBCbreakfast- and a question regularly asked by patients, friends and family Whilst less likely to develop skin cancer or sunburn, people with skin of colour can develop skin cancer (note: the late Bob Marley) which may present at a later stage and can still burn in the sun. More pertinently to patients with darker skin tones, the sun causes photo-ageing of the skin and can exacerbate hyperpigmentation (e.g. #Melasma #PostInflammatoryHyperpigmentation), which disproportionately affects people with darker skin tones. Dr Marwan Tahoun and I recently discussed these issues in a letter to the International Journal of Cosmetic Sciences: https://lnkd.in/ey2hKTqs When selecting a sunscreen to mitigate pigmentation particularly in patients with skin of colour, as well as looking for UVB protection (e.g. SPF 50+) and UVA protection, it is important that the sunscreen protects against the effects of high-energy #visiblelight #HEVL - for example, with a tinted sunscreen containing iron oxide. There is initial data to suggest that sunscreens containing anti-pigmentary agents (e.g. 2-mercaptonicotinoyl glycine [#Melasyl]) may be promising in preventing exacerbation of hyperpigmentation induced by #HEVL. Dr Tamara Searle, Professor Firas Al-Niaimi and I also previously discussed the effects of visible light upon hyperpigmentation this in our article: 10.1111/ced.14437 Do you routinely ask your patients with skin of colour to use sun protection? #sunscreen #skinofcolour #hyperpigmentation