Why Blacks age better than Whites

Jet, June 26, 1995

Ever wonder why Black senior citizens look much younger than their White counterparts?

As Blacks grow older, their years generally are not revealed through the furrowed brows, crows feet around the eyes, and discolored skin that often make Whites of the same age seem far older. But why is that so?

A recent study by researchers at the University of California at San Francisco found that prolonged exposure to sun rays is the main reason White skin is often robbed of its youthful appearance quicker than Black skin.

The survey of 20,000 patients concluded that year for year, Blacks have younger looking skin than Whites. Researchers found nearly 10 times more visible signs of aging--wrinkles, liver spots and other age marks related to sun exposure--in Whites than Blacks.

Just consider the ageless beauty of songstylist Lena Horne, who looks at least 20 years younger than her 78 years. Looking at Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte, it's unlikely anyone who is not familiar with their backgrounds on stage and screen, would guess they are both 68.

And then there are the Delany Sisters, Sadie and Bessie, now 105 and 103 respectively, whose lives have been chronicled in the books Having Our Say and The Delany Sisters' Book of Everyday Wisdom. The years have been kind to the sisters, whose faces have wrinkles, but they hardly give away their more than a century of living.

When it comes to Black skin retaining its youthful appearance, Dr. Lucius Earles, a noted Chicago dermatologist in private practice on the city's South Side, told JET, "The primary thing is the melanin in our skin protects us."

Because of this natural skin protector, "the elastic layer beneath the skin that keeps our skin nice and smooth doesn't get disrupted, broken down and degraded by the sunlight like it does in Caucasians. So our skin tends to be much smoother."

He said while Whites are often oblivious to the damage that's being done to their skin while having fun in the sun water skiing, sunbathing and even riding in convertible cars, Blacks, whose skin tends to retain more heat, are just not sun worshippers by nature.

"We as Black people aren't drawn to the sun. We had to spend so much time working in the sun, historically, it's not pleasant from our heritage," Dr. Earles said.

He recalled one blonde-haired, blue-eyed patient who boasted of traveling to some tropical destination every three months or so to get a deep, dark tan. "She was tanned. A craggy brown, kind of like a turkey. She was in her mid 30s but she looked much older."

Earles pointed out, "As Black folks get older, their skin looks better. Black ladies can be 75 or 80 and a lot of times they will only have fine lines around the eyes or around the lips, but they don't have the sun damage" which results in sun spots or age spots on White skin and certain cancers usually found in the head and neck areas.

While there are many theories as to why Black skin ages better than White skin, Dr. Harold Minus, a dermatology professor at Howard University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., told JET, "Scientifically speaking, I'd say it's the amount of sebum--or oil--in the skin and Blacks tend to have a greater amount of oily skin than Whites."

He said the natural oils in Black skin help guard against sun damage and maintain the suppleness and elasticity in the skin of Blacks.

Minus also pointed out that while melanin and natural oils protect Black skin, a great deal of the aging process is related to a person's genes. "Genetics," he said, plays a role "in terms of somebody being predisposed to damage by the sun or withstanding aging." He concluded, "If the mother has nice skin, chances are her daughters will too."

Dr. Isaac Willis, Atlanta dermatologist who is a pioneer in the area of sun screens, believes the reason Black skin withstands the effects of aging better than White skin is due to "genetic superiority terms of repair mechanisms in the skin of Blacks."

"You can't say Black skin alone protects against sun damage," Willis continued, adding, "We know why White skin ages, because of the deleterious effect of the sun's rays on the skin...but there is something about Black skin genetically that differs from Whites. In Black skin, it's a lot more complicated and needs more study," he said.

Willis, who is a dermatology professor at Morehouse and operates a private practice in the area, concluded, "The genetic ability of Blacks to repair damage from sunlight and from heat and their natural habits of avoiding direct sun exposure, I think are the major differences that keep Blacks from having a lot of premature aging and skin cancer" associated with the sun.

But Willis cautioned, Blacks should think twice if they believe they can just throw caution to the wind when it comes to protecting their skin from sun. "Young Blacks like to be out in the sun as much as White people. They may find 20 years down the road that their skin starts to age and they have as many incidents of skin cancers as Whites."