TikTok and Black Skin: Is This a Missed Opportunity for Dermatologists?

Abstract

Background: A study by Villa-Ruiz et al (2021) found that educational videos dominate the content of dermatologic videos on TikTok with 25.8% of the videos being posted by board-certified dermatologists. We sought to examine if these results would differ when the search is adjusted to hashtags specific to black skin.  Methods: On October 12th, 2021, an investigator input #BlackSkinCare, #BlackSkinTreatment, #BlackSkinAdvice, and #BlackSkinCareTips in TikTok. #SkinOfColor was not searched as this term is used almost exclusively by dermatologists and could skew the results. After the total of 200 videos was obtained, the videos were then classified into categories regarding their content, and the skin concern and creator were recorded.

Results: Most of the videos were of educational content (57.1%), followed by personal experiences (23.2%). Clinical demonstrations/live procedures, business/advertisement, and entertainment/humor followed with 9.6%, 5.6%, and 4.5%, respectively. 54.5% of posts were about general skin care. 22.7% of posts addressed dark spots followed by acne (12.1%). Ingrown hair/razor bumps and skin texture/open pores followed, both with 3.5% each. 54% of videos were posted by vloggers or personal accounts. Board-certified dermatologists followed with 18.7% of the videos posted. Estheticians accounted for 16.2% and, lastly, business/industry comprised 8.6% of the videos analyzed.

Conclusions: When searching black skin, TikTok posts are mostly educational and were less likely to have been created by a board-certified dermatologist. The top skin concern specified was dark spots. These findings suggest that there is an opportunity for dermatologists to increase educational content relating to black skin on TikTok. Campbell JR, Woolery-Lloyd H, Williams K. TikTok and black skin: is this a missed opportunity for dermatologists? J Drugs Dermatol. 2023;22(7):698-700. doi:10.36849/JDD.7061.