TY - JOUR
T1 - The Eumelanin Human Skin Colour Scale
T2 - a proof-of-concept study
AU - Dadzie, Ophelia E.
AU - Sturm, Rick A.
AU - Fajuyigbe, Damilola
AU - Petit, Antoine
AU - Jablonski, Nina G.
N1 - Funding Information:
sources None.We would like to thank the British Association of Dermatologists for inviting us to undertake this work. We are grateful to Miss Viththika Lingeswaran at the British Association of Dermatologists for providing us with administrative assistance while undertaking this work. We would also like to thank Professor Denise Solomon (Professor and Head of Communications Arts and Sciences, Penn State, PA, USA), Professor Cynthia Young (Professor of History and African American Studies, Penn State, PA, USA) and Dr Georgia Ennis (anthropological linguist and visiting fellow of the Center for Humanities and Information, Penn State, PA, USA) for their invaluable intellectual contribution to this work.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 British Association of Dermatologists.
PY - 2022/7
Y1 - 2022/7
N2 - Background: At present there is no standard nomenclature for describing the diversity of human constitutive skin colour. Objectives: To develop a standard nomenclature to describe human constitutive skin colour. Methods: Monthly focus group discussions were carried out among a multidisciplinary group of specialists over a 7-month period. Topics covered were (i) limitations and unmet needs of current nomenclature(s) pertaining to human cutaneous diversity, (ii) practical considerations about the function and role of any proposed nomenclature pertaining to human cutaneous diversity, (iii) review of the cellular basis and current molecular genetic understanding of variation in human skin pigmentation and (iv) in vivo methods to evaluate human skin pigmentation. In addition, a preliminary review of the published literature was undertaken to collate data on published skin reflectance measurements, notably melanin index values for well-referenced human populations. Results: We developed a five-point scale to describe the full spectrum of human constitutive skin colour, termed the Eumelanin Human Skin Colour Scale. The nomenclature of the scale uses eumelanin, the dominant chromophore of human skin, as a central descriptive word. The categories of the scale (nomenclature and melanin index values) are eumelanin low (EML), < 25; eumelanin intermediate low (EMIL), 25 to < 50; eumelanin intermediate (EMI), 50 to < 75; eumelanin intermediate high (EMIH), 75 to < 100; and eumelanin high (EH), ≥ 100. Conclusions: The Eumelanin Human Skin Colour Scale enables the complete range of human constitutive skin colour to be described in an objective, equitable and understandable manner. In future, this scale can be used as the basis for developing other scales that address the specific functional aspects of human skin, such as response to ultraviolet radiation.
AB - Background: At present there is no standard nomenclature for describing the diversity of human constitutive skin colour. Objectives: To develop a standard nomenclature to describe human constitutive skin colour. Methods: Monthly focus group discussions were carried out among a multidisciplinary group of specialists over a 7-month period. Topics covered were (i) limitations and unmet needs of current nomenclature(s) pertaining to human cutaneous diversity, (ii) practical considerations about the function and role of any proposed nomenclature pertaining to human cutaneous diversity, (iii) review of the cellular basis and current molecular genetic understanding of variation in human skin pigmentation and (iv) in vivo methods to evaluate human skin pigmentation. In addition, a preliminary review of the published literature was undertaken to collate data on published skin reflectance measurements, notably melanin index values for well-referenced human populations. Results: We developed a five-point scale to describe the full spectrum of human constitutive skin colour, termed the Eumelanin Human Skin Colour Scale. The nomenclature of the scale uses eumelanin, the dominant chromophore of human skin, as a central descriptive word. The categories of the scale (nomenclature and melanin index values) are eumelanin low (EML), < 25; eumelanin intermediate low (EMIL), 25 to < 50; eumelanin intermediate (EMI), 50 to < 75; eumelanin intermediate high (EMIH), 75 to < 100; and eumelanin high (EH), ≥ 100. Conclusions: The Eumelanin Human Skin Colour Scale enables the complete range of human constitutive skin colour to be described in an objective, equitable and understandable manner. In future, this scale can be used as the basis for developing other scales that address the specific functional aspects of human skin, such as response to ultraviolet radiation.
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U2 - 10.1111/bjd.21277
DO - 10.1111/bjd.21277
M3 - Review article
C2 - 35349165
AN - SCOPUS:85129996200
SN - 0007-0963
VL - 187
SP - 99
EP - 104
JO - British Journal of Dermatology
JF - British Journal of Dermatology
IS - 1
ER -