Dr. Andrew Alexis is the Chair of the Department of Dermatology at Mount Sinai St. Luke’s and Mount Sinai Roosevelt. He is also Associate Professor of Dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Alexis is the Co-Chair of the Skin of Color Seminar Series in New York City. During the 2017 conference he provided practical pearls and treatment outlines for African American patients with scalp psoriasis.
Dr. Alexis recommends selecting a treatment regimen that is compatible with the patient’s hair care practices including less frequent hair washing in women of African descent (typically once per week to once every other week). Daily hair washing, especially with most prescription shampoos, is often associated with increased hair dryness and breakage. In addition, it is also very time consuming for most women of African descent due to common styling practices.
Suggested Regimen for African-American Females:
- Once weekly washing with prescription shampoo. This may be increased to two times a week depending on the severity and patient preferences
- Continue with usual conditioner
- Once weekly topical fluocinolone acetonide in peanut oil vehicle applied to the scalp for 6-8 hours overnight prior to washing or several times per week without washing
- Once to twice daily application of POTENT topical steroid in vehicle that is compatible with hair care practices and hair texture (e.g. lotion, emollient foam, oil > gel, solution, ethanolic foam) Ask the patient for vehicle preferences
- Alternative: calcipotriene and betamethasone dipropionate topical suspension daily
Attendees at the Skin of Color Seminar Series May 5-6 in NYC will have the opportunity to dig deeper into psoriasis treatment in skin of color patients as Dr. Alexis gives his latest updates, pearls and therapeutic insights and also personally answers attendees’ most pressing questions.