Background: Patients with darker skin phototypes self-report less facial aging than their lighter-skinned counterparts. However, the association of skin phototype with the type of cosmetic procedures received, is yet to be established in a Canadian context.
Objective: To compare the pattern of nonsurgical cosmetic procedures performed on people with different Fitzpatrick SPTs.
Materials and methods: Cross-sectional study of patient encounters from October 2020-April 2022. Charts and photographs were reviewed and analyzed for age, sex, SPT, and procedure type. Participants were stratified by SPT into 2 cohorts: SPT I-III and SPT IV-VI. SPTs were collapsed into groups based on definitions of "skin of color" (SPT IV-VI) in previous literature.
Results: We analyzed 350 patients with mean age 43.4, of whom 320 (91%) were female and 30 (9%) were male. The SPT I-III cohort was older (mean age 45 vs 38.5 years, p < .0001) and more frequently underwent neuromodulator injection. The SPT IV-VI cohort more frequently underwent microneedling, platelet-rich plasma, or electrodessication.
Conclusion: There are distinct patterns of cosmetic procedures performed. The SPT I-III cohort more commonly received procedures to manage facial aging. The SPT IV-VI cohort was younger and more commonly underwent procedures to manage hyperpigmentation.
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