Heather Woolery-Lloyd, MD, FAAD: Interview on Common Skin of Color Dermatoses

During her interview with HCPLive about presentation at the SDPA 20th Annual Fall Dermatology Conference, Heather Woolery-Lloyd, MD, FAAD, spoke on dermatoses that commonly affect patients of color.

Woolery-Lloyd is a dermatologist and an internationally-known expert in skin of color. She holds lectures around the country as well as internationally regarding cosmetic concerns for those with skin of color.

Woolery-Lloyd’s presentation highlighted common dermatoses such as hair and scalp disorders, pigmentary disorders, and scarring. During the presentation, she reviewed established as well as newer treatment strategies.

“So when it comes to skin, I am primarily treating hyperpigmentation,” she said. “I talked a lot about melasma. Because melasma is probably one of the most challenging things that I treat when it comes to hyperpigmentation… So I talked about how first of all, we need to spend some time with the melasma patients, explaining to them that this is a chronic disease and that we'll work together but there's no one cream or one peel or one procedure that we can do that gets rid of melasma forever. So that's really important.”

She went on to discuss the various steps in how she recommends helping patients struggling with hyperpigmentation.

“So the treatment and the first phase is actually quite easy,” she said. “But the second phase, the maintenance, is where the challenge begins. The other thing I emphasize for my melasma patients is sunscreens. I recommend a broad spectrum, UVA UVB and ideally also visible light, which contains iron oxides. And the last thing I mentioned is that you can also use oral photoprotection, which doesn't replace sunscreen, but it makes sunscreens work better.”

Woolery-Lloyd also described various types of research into her presentation topics that she feels may contain some gaps in research. One example she gave was that of alopecia.

“When it comes to alopecia and hair loss, there are definitely still gaps but the research in that area is growing too,” she said. “Not as quickly as in the pigmentation area but definitely growing.”

View Woolery-Lloyd’s full interview above to learn more about her SDPA 2022 Conference presentation.