To What Extent Could a Patient’s Skin Type Correlate with the Skin’s Response to Topical Vitamin A: Tretinoin and Adapalene?

Skin type results in varied responses towards topical vitamin A medications-specifically Tretinoin and Adapalene. An understanding on why patients don’t exhibit the same or similar results and symptoms while on the same topical vitamin A medication could result from their phenotypic genetic traits in combination to their skin’s response to UV radiation. These two factors are taken into account within this study in order to categorize patients to accurately compare their reactions. This study focuses on analyzing patients through skin types I - VI through the categorization of the Fitzpatrick scale. This categorization allows for the hypothesis to be supported or refuted on whether, “If melanocytes are abundant in the skin, then they will have lessened severity in symptoms.” The quantitative and qualitative methodology was a correlational study that utilized a questionnaire, a skin type categorization with variables taken from the Fitzpatrick scale, and statistical analysis—mean, range, standard deviation, and standard error, in order to highlight if there were any statistical differences or similarities across all skin types. The data indicate how there was a statistically significant difference between the skin types across this study. This is seen through popular symptoms including sensitivity, peeling, purging period, and duration. However, some skin types exhibited a minute variation in reaction to the topical medication. Ultimately, this study reveals how skin types exhibit varied responses towards topical vitamin A medications, contributing a deeper understanding of how medications can result in a diverse severity between patients.