Dermatologists and the Power of 'Skinfluencers': Can Dermatologists Improve Their Social Media Game? | AAD 2025

Skin care has spawned some of social media’s biggest stars, many of whom have lucrative deals with companies to promote their products. In some cases, they are challenging dermatologists as a source of information about the care and treatment of dermatological conditions.

Stephanie Fabbro, M.D.

“I would say that perhaps there's a disconnect here, where we want to be a source for patients of factual content — accurate content — but we may not be the voice that they want to hear. And so that's where the disconnect occurs,” Stephanie Fabbro, M.D., said in an interview with Managed Healthcare Executive.

Fabbro, a dermatologist at Rixis Dermatology in Columbus, Ohio, moderated a session Sunday morning on social media and ethics at the 2025 annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology in Orlando, Florida. In addition to grappling with the issues raised by "skinfluencers,” the panel explored confidentiality and patient privacy issues and the risks and rewards of discussing politics on social media.

William W. Huang, M.D., M.P.H., said it was important to acknowledge the appeal of skinfluencers and the source of their success in social media.

“They share their videos from their bathrooms and their bedrooms. They share their personal story. The experience seems more intimate and more relatable. It can make skin care more accessible,” said Huang, a dermatologist with the Dermatology Group of the Carolinas in Salisbury, North Carolina.

Huang expressed some awe at the number of people that skinfluencers can potentially influence. “With a click of a button, they can reach millions of followers. I can only see one patient at a time,” said Huang. But he also said the sway that the skininfluencers can have is "scary,” and there is some risk of potential harm without responsibility.

Dermatologists can, of course, get on social media themselves, Huang said, and be “dermfluencers.” But he noted that physicians, as a group, are not among social media’s greatest joiners, citing research that showed that while 70% of physicians have a social media presence, 90% of those posted zero times a month. Huang mentioned the “Your Dermatologist Knows” social media campaign that the American Academy of Dermatology launched in October 2022 as a constructive effort to use social media to spread accurate information. The campaign’s messaging includes practical tips about, for example, tick removal and mistakes in applying sunscreen, as well as general messages. But Huang also said there is a risk of dermatologists abandoning or giving short shrift to traditional practice in favor of content creation. He also discussed the possible drawbacks of medical students and residents getting involved in social media, citing a case discussed in a dermatology ethics discussion group of a pharmaceutical company approaching a resident about posting content in exchange for getting its products.

Huang said skinfluencers shouldn’t be regarded as necessarily having a negative influence on dermatologists and dermatology and that, like dermatologists, they could work with pharmaceutical and other companies that sell dermatologic products. “If they do it the right way, they can work with reliable and trustworthy industry partners — the same partners we have down the hall in the exhibit hall,” he noted.

Fabbro pointed out that there are nano- and micoinfluencers with 1,000 to 100,000 followers in addition to those with audiences in the millions. She noted that those followers can develop strong parasocial relationships with these more niche influencers.

If a patient is using an unproven product endorsed by an influencer, Fabbro said she may use the same approach that she uses with unproven natural or alternative medicine products, which is to ask patients to share information with her about the products that they are using so she can work with them and vet the products.

Fabbro observed that adolescents and people with skin conditions that are difficult to treat may be especially susceptible to messages from skinfluencers.

“Dermatology is a uniquely visual field, and so it lends itself better to social media than a lot of other specialties for that reason,” Fabbro said.

Fabbro also pointed to the academy’s “Your Dermatologist Know” social campaign. But she said that dermatologists, in general, need to market themselves better and make more appealing content.

“We have to do a better job as a specialty blending medically interesting content with verified content. So, OK, this is going to catch your attention. This is super cool. But then, here's the reference; here's the publication to back it up,” she said.