Skin health should be a right, not a privilege. 

2.1 billion people all over the world suffer from skin disease, yet fewer than half of them have access to dermatological care.1,2


L’Oréal Act for Dermatology is committing 20 million euros, over 5 years, to fund access to skin health worldwide via four transformative Acts.



Act 1. Pioneering Knowledge on Access to Skin Health

Investing in cutting-edge research to deepen understanding of skin health, including the main barriers to skin health access, knowledge gaps for skin of color, the impact of climate change, and the profound effects of stigmatization linked to skin pathologies.

Act 2. Advocating Skin Health for All

Elevating skin health to the forefront of public discourse, engaging both the public and private sectors, and collaborating with NGOs to drive meaningful policy change.

LOreal Acts for Dermatology


Act 3. Empowering Skin Health Carers with Education

Committing to train healthcare workers worldwide to diagnose and treat skin disease and investing €2 million to facilitate open access to scientific publications for low-to-middle income countries (LOOP). This will ensure knowledge reaches those who need it most, while providing dermatologists with financial support to access or publish critical research.

L’Oréal Open Access for Publications (LOOP)

Today, 62% of dermatology literature published remains behind a paywall and only 4% of all articles are from low-to-middle income countries authors and available on open access*. LOOP (L'Oréal Open Access for Publications) is a €2 million initiative designed to democratize access to dermatological literature, especially for researchers and practitioners in low-to-middle income countries. It addresses the challenge of paywalled content in two ways: First, it directly funds open-access publishing of research. Second, it is building a consortium of leading dermatology journals and publishers to provide access to their paywalled content for users in these countries.

LOOP will ensure knowledge reaches those who need it most, while providing dermatologists with financial support to access or publish critical research.



Act 4. Scaling Skin Health Solutions to All

 

Investing in a “Do Tank” to expand access to skin diagnosis and treatment, through the rapid scaling of best-in-class, locally relevant solutions. Such solutions include the rollout of high-impact, winning projects from the International Awards for Social Responsibility in Dermatology, launched in 2011 by L’Oréal and the ILDS, which paved the way to recognizing leading dermatologists across the world.

 

The International Awards for Social Responsibility in Dermatology

 

The International Awards for Social Responsibility in Dermatology, launched in 2011, aims to recognize dermatologists leading high-impact projects in three categories: prevention and education on skin health; improved quality of life and self-esteem for people facing skin issues; and access to care coverage and surgery. Projects are selected by a jury of dermatologists from the International League of Dermatological Societies (ILDS).

References:


1. GBD 2017 Disease and Injury Incidence and Prevalence Collaborators. Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 354 diseases and injuries for 195 countries and territories, 1990-2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. Lancet. 2018. 10;392(10159):1789-1858.

2. Freeman E E. Global health dermatology: An emerging field addressing the access to care crisis. Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol. 2024;90:3–4.1.