Ethel Tur - Gender and Dermatology

This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer International Publishing AG part of Springer Nature

The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

The nature of certain diseases is different between women and men. Genetic and hormonal differences affect skin structure and function, thus affecting disease processes. In addition, exogenous factors differ according to differences in lifestyle between the sexes. In the last two decades it has been recognized that women are more different medically than previously appreciated, and studies started being conducted accordingly. Methodologies used in dermatological research have improved substantially, providing means of objective evaluation of skin function and characteristics, leading to improvement in treatment and disease outcome.

Diseases differ between men and women in terms of prevention, clinical signs, therapeutic approach, prognosis, and psychological and social impacts.

This book outlines several aspects of differences between the skin of women and men in health and disease, based on available data. It is not designed to be exhaustive in its coverage of the subject, but rather to highlight certain aspects of it. We wish and hope that this book will ignite more interest in the topic of gender dermatology.

The editors are grateful to all our contributing authors for their efforts and cooperation in applying their knowledge and skill.

Special thanks to our team at Springer: Mr. Grant Weston, Responsible Editor, Mr. Andre Tournois, Project Coordinator, Mr. Karthik Periyasamy, Production editor, and Mr. Dinesh Vinayagam, Project Manager, for their meticulous work.

No significant difference

Stratum corneum

Transepidermal water loss

This chapter will review the literature on gender differences in skin physiology focusing on non-invasive biophysical measures of skin function. While there are countless studies on the biophysical properties of human skin, there are fewer that examine gender differences. Many studies are sponsored by the cosmetic industry and not surprisingly focus on women and often compare effects of aging or photoaging. Unfortunately, the literature that explores gender differences does not always present a clear picture as will be seen. This contribution will review sebum production, skin pH, barrier function as assessed by transepidermal water loss (TEWL) , stratum corneum (SC) hydration measured by electrical properties, skin viscoelasticity and facial skin wrinkling.