Developmental Biology of Black Skin, Hair, and Nails

Black children are children from Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America whose ancestry is partially or fully Black African. Children who are black have large and active melanosomes producing eumelanin and providing an intrinsic sun protection to the skin, yielding a Fitzpatrick Skin Type of IV–VI. The skin tone is accompanied by curled hair of lesser density and reduced oil distribution along the follicles as well as hyperactive and plumper fi broblasts. This chapter highlights the biological basis of skin tone in children who are of Black descent, with a focus toward clinical correlation with disease states and susceptibility in the Black population.