As the director of skin of color at the University of Miami, Woolery-Lloyd said she was driven by a desire to better understand the unique needs of diverse patients.
“When I was a resident, honestly, the term skin of color was just being introduced,” she said, adding that it really didn’t exist as a specialty in dermatology.
Woolery-Lloyd said one area that is particularly important is hair care. She noted that hair texture varies across ethnicities, therefore requiring tailored recommendations around products, styling and shampoo frequency.
“If you have curly hair or coily hair or just more textured hair, you can’t wash your hair every single day or it would dry up and fall,” she said.
The chief medical advisor at Nutrafol also emphasized the need to consider diversity much earlier in product development and clinical research.
“The key really is to design, think about diverse populations early in product development,” she said. That includes ensuring products are compatible with different populations and that clinical studies actually include the people for whom products are intended.
She also highlighted the growing conversation around hair thinning, particularly among women experiencing menopause or taking GLP-1 medications.
“I do think that it has been destigmatized,” she said of hair thinning, adding that hormonal changes and nutritional factors associated with rapid weight loss can both play a role.
