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Gothic Lolita
November 18th, 2008, 09:04 AM
I know that the idea might sound a bit strange, but today I wondered if skin condition a hair color are a related subject.

I got the idea because I've heard many times from red heads that they always have skin problems like extremly dry skin, red spots, neurodermatitis.... Blondes also seem to be more prone to these things.
Then again, I've hardly ever heard problem like that from naturally dark haired people.

I'm auburn/brown haired myself and my skin behaves strange too. I have an oily face, sometimes get blemishes and tend to get red blotched when stressed or simply nervous/excited.
The skin on my body is dry and on my legs looks scaly (tried everything on this... :( ).


So, have you made similiar observation? What is your hair color and have you skin problems? Are there certain colors which are more fragile?

Babyfine
November 18th, 2008, 09:13 AM
My hair color is a light-medium brown(now with some grey)
I have very fair skin, brown eyes.
I've been plagued off and on with acne from 17-40
Now I get pimples every once in awhile, red face(rosacea?)
skin tends to be oily.

Samikha
November 18th, 2008, 09:15 AM
I think it's just a pigmentation issue. Redheads are often very fair because they are lacking in pigment, and the same thing though in lesser scale counts with blondes. It goes with the genetic territory.

For myself, I have freckled, reddish, dry and sensitive skin and hair colour that's usually described as brown, though it's really more of a very very dark ash blonde (it's quite low in saturation, and has more green-yellow than red in it). My eyes are blue.

maskedrose
November 18th, 2008, 09:40 AM
I'm blonde with some red undertones and I have very fair skin. I think those of us with lighter hair color ususally have the corresponding light and thin skin. Mine is super thin, so I blush easily when I'm embarrassed and I get shiny really quickly in the summer or red and flaky in the winter. I've also suffered from acne since I was about 9.

When my skin is happy I love it - sometimes I think my coloring looks almost ethereal, especially in the right light! Enjoy yours :)

Islandgrrl
November 18th, 2008, 10:53 AM
I'm a natural redhead. I have fair skin, but not the typical pale, freckled skin associated with redheads. I have no freckles. I tan very lightly and slowly, but I do tan a little. Green eyes that are very light sensitive. My skin tends to be very dry on my body, especially my legs. I'd describe the skin on my face as sensitive, but fairly normal otherwise. No acne, no excessive dryness or oiliness.

lora410
November 18th, 2008, 11:05 AM
I'm a brunette, and I get red blotches on my chest all the time. I also have facial breakouts; although I now have that under control. My legs are always non stop scaly dry to..ehh I am also another green eyed gal sensitive to light.

vindo
November 18th, 2008, 11:25 AM
I'm a brunette, my skin is a light beige but not fair. I do have a few freckles.

My skin used to be pretty sensitive and confused, oily along with dry patches and flakes + blemishes.
For a couple of years now I have been using gentler and natural products and my skin problems are gone.

Only thing I have is a few blemishes once in a while, or a little dryness that is easily cured with moisturizer.

When still in Germany I used SANTE's Lotus and White Tea Line. It is for sensitive skin. I really loved it and would still use the cleansing milk if I could.

In case you are not using anything super gentle yet, maybe switching helps?

Lighter skin tones tend to be more sensitive and dry. Darker ones tend more towards oiliness.
Harsh care can rally irritate sensitie skin and it develops all kinds of conditions. Using high SPF alone can reduce redness since part of it is stress related and triggered by sun. even it the skin does not burn.
Fair skin in good condition is a beautiful sight, it might be more sensitive but it usually has a very fine and even surface.

Anje
November 18th, 2008, 11:27 AM
Pale skin, gold undertones, natural auburn, with hazel-green eyes. I freckle and have some limited ability to tan -- when really tan, I almost look like a normally-colored person does in mid-winter. (I have been a standard of paleness to which others, including my highschool teachers, compare themselves.) My skin tends to be dry, and gets peel-y on the end of my nose and between my eyebrows if I don't slather on moisturizer. It's definitely a bit chemically sensitive, and moisturizers with sunscreen in them seem to burn near my eyes. I get red blotches easily, but I think that has more to do with the pale coloring, which doesn't hide any increase in blood flow.

redtea
November 18th, 2008, 11:35 AM
I have fair skin with warm undertones and a few freckles on my face. My hair was a dark reddish blonde up until my 20's when it decided to change to an unflattering (on me) shade of ashy dark blonde, and my eyes are a light greenish-bluish-gray (I don't know, everyone describes them exactly that way). My skin seems to bruise very easily. If I'm bad and decide to pick at something on my face, even gently, I'll have a giant red mark the next day. Sometimes I'll even get scabs even if there was no blood. When I spend too long out in the sun, besides burning, sometimes I'll get tiny, barely visible red dots on my skin. I have somewhat oily skin (I have to use powder at least 2x a day) but small pores. I have a lot of hormonal issues, so occassionally I'll break out. My hands get incredibly dry and cracked and my legs get really dry as soon as the weather gets cold. I also have a lot of the issues others mentioned here too, like blotchiness on my chest and blushing more easily.

Teleri
November 18th, 2008, 11:55 AM
It makes sense. I know fair people of Celtic descent are more prone to rosacea, and people of African descent have problems with stuff like vitiligo and keloids.

Mysel, my hair is light brown, and my biggest skin issue is broken capillaries.

Curlsgirl
November 18th, 2008, 12:34 PM
I am fair and of Celtic descent with naturally light brown hair and light green eyes. I have very sensitive skin and prone to excema from skin contact allergies but never have really had acne except for occasional breakouts when I was a teenager. My green eyes are also very sensitive.

Crinita
November 18th, 2008, 12:47 PM
I'm a blue-eyed brunette with what I have been told is an olive skin tone that tans slowly but easily (German/Irish/English ancestry regardless of how many people ask/tell me I'm Native American!). I have some localized breakouts occasionally but nothing really horrible. My husband OTOH is a blue-eyed blond with pale (though tannable, certainly) skin tone (Scandanavian ancestry) and has the same kind of occasional, localized breakouts but nothing horrible. Neither of us has a 'special' skin care routine, just whatever soap is in the shower.

Thoughts?

Pax,
Crinita

Áine
November 18th, 2008, 01:03 PM
Lighter skin tones tend to be more sensitive and dry. Darker ones tend more towards oiliness.

There are so many cases of where the opposite is true. I have a best friend who is black, and she is like a crocodile if she doesn't moisturize her dry skin. Likewise, I have my Scandinavian side of the family who are as fair as ever, and they are extremely oily people and they never use lotion.


....and people of African descent have problems with stuff like vitiligo and keloids....

Keloids can occur on any ethnicity. None of the black people I know get them, and all the people I know who are afflicted with it are white.

Also, vitiligo is just as prone to happen to one group as another. I think that it is just a highly visible contrast between the normal skin, and the depigmented skin that makes it more apparent among certain people.

rhubarbarin
November 18th, 2008, 01:33 PM
I have pale sallow skin, tawny hair, and blue eyes. My mom is 100% English, has super-pale skin and light brown hair - her skin is dry and prone to excema. My sister is blonde and has excema that's triggered by cow's milk products. My dad (he has a Scottish bio-mom, but that's all we know) has medium-toned light skin, tawny hair, he had severe acne as a teen, and has a skin disorder called ichthyosis vulgaris, in which your skin cells don't shed normally, causing 'scale-like' deposits of dead skin cells. His case is fairly mild, but he can't shower very often as it dries out his skin, and he has to use medicated lotions, etc. I think I have it too, although I don't have a diagnosis - it's supposed to be 50% heritable.

My skin is dry, and I have to apply lotion twice a day most of the year or it itches and scales (the only thing that helps is being hot - sweating helps my skin a lot). I have excema that's triggered by said dryness - if I skip a moisturization session once in the winter, I'll have an outbreak. I've had acne since I was 17 - although giving up most dairy products and taking vitamins has completely cleared my body acne, and much improved my face. I get ingrown hairs and keratosis pilaris-like bumps without frequent exfoliation. Shaving also helps keep my skin smooth.

I am also prone to extreme swellings, rashes, blistering etc in response to stress..

Taking care of my skin takes a lot of time and effort.

My BF is Italian, has very dark brown hair and pale olive skin that tans very dark with minimal sun exposure. He never has to use lotion, never gets zits or ingrown hairs, and his family ages very well with few wrinkles, despite the fact that they spend tons of time outside in the sun with no sunscreen.

neon-dream
November 18th, 2008, 01:52 PM
I know that the idea might sound a bit strange, but today I wondered if skin condition a hair color are a related subject.

I got the idea because I've heard many times from red heads that they always have skin problems like extremly dry skin, red spots, neurodermatitis.... Blondes also seem to be more prone to these things.
Then again, I've hardly ever heard problem like that from naturally dark haired people.

I'm auburn/brown haired myself and my skin behaves strange too. I have an oily face, sometimes get blemishes and tend to get red blotched when stressed or simply nervous/excited.
The skin on my body is dry and on my legs looks scaly (tried everything on this... :( ).


So, have you made similiar observation? What is your hair color and have you skin problems? Are there certain colors which are more fragile?

I don't think this is true for everyone, as I am a red head and have no skin problems except the odd blemish, but everyone gets those once in a while. I don't think it's strictly related to hair colour, but people with certain colouring may be more prone to get more spots.
It could be due to other factors too, like redheads tend to burn rather than tan.
In general, I think there might be a link but no definite truth in it :)

burns_erin
November 18th, 2008, 04:26 PM
I am a somewhat red head. But I have dark skin that tans easily, moderate to severe rosacea (but since I have rather dark skin it just means I never have to use blush), oily t-zone with some lemishes (more right now than usual), but the rest of my skin is rather dry, all of my skin is highly senstive to touch and chemicals, and my eyes are indetermintate in color, sometimes looks blue, sometimes gree, sometimes grey that are sensitive to both light and high contrast.

Genetics is a rather strange thing, it is very complex and can be a littel hard to figure, but I think there are some definite links between hair and skin, it is just a matter of what features have been turned on or off.

LawyerGirl
November 18th, 2008, 04:33 PM
I am dark haired, brown-eyed, half-hispanic... my skin tans well and I don't have trouble with redness or things like that...

My skin is very tempermental... it's both dry and oily, depending on the day of the week.... I am prone to break out from stress or hormones. I think my skin is worse now than when I was a teenager. Since I started law school, my skin has been absolutely terrible. (A year and a half now of this... I know picking at it makes it worse. I have hopes that when I graduate my skin woes will disappear.)

Elphie
November 18th, 2008, 06:41 PM
I've found that age has taken away most of my skin issues. My natural haircolor is more of an ashy brown and I'm very fair. I'm also Italian, so my fair skin tans and I rarely burn. When I was younger, my skin was extremely sensitive. I needed fragrance free detergent, unscented soaps, etc. I had my share of blemish issues and oil problems.

Now? My skin is clear most of the time, the oil has reduced, and fragranced items no longer bother me I also have green eyes, but they aren't sensitive to light at all.

Vitalai
November 18th, 2008, 09:44 PM
I have dark brown/black hair and olive-toned skin that tans well. I have never had a sunburn. I have very sensitive skin though. It's always so dry, and sometimes I get discolored patches on my face.

mira-chan
November 18th, 2008, 09:55 PM
Dark brown hair with red undertones and very light olive skin here. I don't burn usually, but tan slowly. I do not blush, no freckles. My skin is dry and sensitive.I have keratosis pilaris. My skin peels from dryness, especially in the winter, doesn't shed normally. It reacts to chemicals and some herbs/ oils, usually by going into red polka dots or itching.

HazelnutDelight
November 18th, 2008, 11:22 PM
My hair is ashy blond on the bottom with gold and red hair everywhere else. I used to think I could only burn, but I think I was just so pale it would take years to notice I can tan. I get really bad sunburn on my scalp though. My skin is constantly producing sebum on my face and scalp with acne to go along with it, including my chest and back. The funny thing is as soon as I wipe it off my skin looks and feels like it's dry. I blush easily and I think I might have rosacea. I don't think the way my skin is is related to my hair color. It's from genetics and hormones. Probably the only thing that is true about light hair and light skin is that you blush and burn easily from not having as much pigment as other people.

MerryKat
November 19th, 2008, 01:31 AM
Natural auburn hair
Fair, freckley skin
Super dry & sensitive skin
Almost no scalp sebum without scalp massage
Dry hair

Soaps & Skin care products tend to agrivate my skin, and I have to trial and error many things before I find the right combinations.

Katze
November 19th, 2008, 03:23 AM
Insofar as hair color is related to genetics, then skin problems are - tangentially - related.

I tend towards eczema and sensitive, dry skin, but this is new for me (the past 5 years or so). I am blonde-ish, very fair, but with rosacea as well. I used to sunburn, but now only tan a little bit and burn less easily. My hair has moved from white blonde and straight to golden blonde to ashy and wavier, and is now a bit more golden with a silver streak.

My sister, however, has olive/sallow skin, very dark brown eyes, and dark, straight hair, and always had terrible weeping eczema as a child. She has no silver/grey hairs to speak of, tans moderately. My sister is also more wrinkled than I am, even though she is younger. The eczema was related to wheat allergies, which our father (darker skin, dark hair and eyes) has, but he also has (quite severe) rosacea. Our mom is pale and has very few skin problems, including minimal wrinkles.

We're a mixed bunch in my family, from dark, Frankish types to ash blonde, blue-white-skinned Scandinavians. All three of us kids are a mix of each - my brother is, for example, very dark skinned but with light brown hair and a red beard, and has no skin problems.

I think it is too complicated to claim any direct correlation...

Bene
November 19th, 2008, 03:43 AM
black/brown hair with olive skin tone... no acne or blemishes on my face, but eczema on my arms and legs :(

Gothic Lolita
November 19th, 2008, 09:33 AM
Thanks everyone for the interest on the subject.

So far, there seems to be a relation between skin and hair, but of course darker people get the same problems as the lighter ones.
Maybe this thougth just occured to me because most of the peopel I know have blond or medium dark hair and complain often about their skin. I hardly know people with natural black hair.
Maybe the get skme of these problem because the daily use of SPF isn'T very common in Germany? Me excluded, I don't know anybody who uses SPF or other protecting things on a regular basis.

MAO
November 21st, 2008, 09:02 PM
I'm a medium brunette with fair skin that blushes easily. Exercising turns my skin an embarrassing purple. If I pick at anything on my face it is guaranteed to leave a purple mark for a while. I burn easily and am acquiring an impressive amount of freckles. I have major dandruff issues and have started having bouts of eczema these past few years. Unfortunately they are showing no signs of retreating anytime soon:confused: I thought eczema was something that showed up early in life and departed later? Mine didn't show up until I turned 27! My husband on the other hand, is half filipino with black hair and brown skin and has LOTS of eczema rashes, the poor guy. If only he would lay off the hot water and antibacterial soap........but nobody knows anything better than he does......

vamq
November 22nd, 2008, 04:31 PM
Very interesting topic :) I've been thinking about this a while ago, so it's quite funny to find it back here.

I can't really define my haircolor (but as you can see in my avatar, it's not so really dark) I get tanned really easily if I want to, but my face always stays a lot whiter than my body, so I try to avoid the sun, in order not to look ill an entire summer..
I don't have much acne, but I've had it quite a lot when I was 12 or 13, so I guess that's normal. I don't have freckles or anything. I don't blush easily, but when it's cold outside or when I cry my head looks like a giant tomato.
The worst skin problem I suffer from is the tendency to feel itchy, especially when I've just washed myself. I've tried all kinds of bathing products, but nothing seems to help. Right now I have some product that's actually for baby's and toddlers, and that helps a bit (:

flapjack
November 22nd, 2008, 04:51 PM
My family is filled with very fair skinned people who have oily skin, no signs of rosacea to anyone's knowledge, fairly clear skin, no skin cancer but most of them were farmers, etc. Personally, I'm a little greaseball. It sucks! I only use very light natural oils as lotions, if I use any at all. A lot of the time I just use sunscreen to attack the signs of sun damage I don't really see because I've been sunburned twice in my entire life. My family history and lack of sunburns does not mean I'm at any less of a risk of skin cancer than anyone else, though... as I will explain in a second.


I think the genetic components behind different skin issues are certainly there, but they are not related to melanin production. People of every skin tone are equally prone to any good or bad skin condition, including melanoma. It all depends on what alleles you inherit and your skin tone doesn't matter.


There are a lot of false rumors out there about skin tone relating to other skin issues. I have educated friends with darker skin tones who were shocked that people in their family were getting melanoma. They thought since they didn't get "sunburned" that they had a decreased chance of getting the same amount of sun damage as the pale person next to them, which from a scientific standpoint is horribly incorrect, DNA damage, cellular apoptosis, and immunosuppression cause all types of cancer. The type of cells that become damaged by UVA and UVB light lie far underneath the top layers of skin and don't produce melanin, anyway. Sure, fair-skinned people often suffer more "mechanical" damage to their outermost layers of skin, resulting in burns, peeling, etc. But those are precisely the layers of skin that are already dead or dying and won't be remaining on their bodies for very long, so they actually are not the cause of melanoma. Due to a very popular, and very wrong, study done in the 70's, a lot of people think they're not at risk and they are. If only more people knew this stuff (thus me rambling it on this forum, as well).

Boudicca
November 23rd, 2008, 04:51 AM
I know that the idea might sound a bit strange, but today I wondered if skin condition a hair color are a related subject.

I got the idea because I've heard many times from red heads that they always have skin problems like extremly dry skin, red spots, neurodermatitis.... Blondes also seem to be more prone to these things.
Then again, I've hardly ever heard problem like that from naturally dark haired people.

I'm auburn/brown haired myself and my skin behaves strange too. I have an oily face, sometimes get blemishes and tend to get red blotched when stressed or simply nervous/excited.
The skin on my body is dry and on my legs looks scaly (tried everything on this... :( ).


So, have you made similiar observation? What is your hair color and have you skin problems? Are there certain colors which are more fragile?

My dermatologist told me that redheads tend to have problems with their skin. Essentially, if something can go wrong with it, it will go wrong. He said that they didn't know why this was the case, but that it was generally accepted. He did say that things tend to clear up when they hit their forties.

Hatsumomo
November 23rd, 2008, 05:13 AM
My hair is naturally a medium brown and I neither have oily or dry skin (unless I overwash my face, then it's dry). I go a week without washing my hair and have no scalp problems. I the odd spot about once or twice a year and normally it's from a mutant hair appearing on my face and me attacking it.