Responses of Black and White Skin to Solar-Simulating Radiation: Differences in DNA Photodamage, Infiltrating Neutrophils, Proteolytic Enzymes Induced, Keratinocyte Activation, and IL-10 Expression

Black skin is more resistant to the deleterious effects of ultraviolet radiation than white skin. A higher melanin content and a different melanosomal dispersion pattern in the epidermis are thought to be responsible for this. Our purpose was to compare skin responses in black and white skin following exposure to solar-simulating radiation (SSR) to further investigate the photoprotective properties of black skin. Six volunteers of skin phototype I–III (white) were exposed to (doses measured directly with a Waldmann UV detector device) 12,000–18,000 mJ per cm2 (2 MED) of SSR and compared with six volunteers of skin phototype VI (black) exposed to 18,000 mJ per cm2 (