PS33 Doctors vs. skinfluencers: how professional vs. personal online messaging impacts skin perception and patient behaviour in the social media era

Abstract

In digital spaces where patients seek distraction and information, the dermatology conversation is being reshaped, driven by the emotive visibility of skin issues and overlap with cosmetic and aesthetic concerns. Advice that is less available in NHS clinical settings is given freely from handheld screens, where skinfluencers speak in familiar tones, with confidence and persistent presence overshadowing health expertise. Such influence can be insidious: for many patients, these faces become mirrors, with amplified voices and benchmarks for self-judgement. The contrast with ­evidence-based dermatology practice reveals more than a gap in accuracy; it exposes a psychological divide. Our aim was to explore how dermatologists and skinfluencers differently shape patient expectations, anxieties and behaviours, and how dermatologists might bridge this widening emotional and informational space. A review of recent practice (2018–2025) drew together research from dermatology, psychodermatology and digital health studies, examining credibility, misinformation exposure and help-seeking patterns. Skinfluencers cultivate intimacy: patients feel spoken to by a friend rather than advised by an authority figure. This relatability encourages trust, but increases vulnerability to irresponsible advice and unrealistic expectations. Although engaging, influencer-led content is often medically inaccurate. Dermatologists, by contrast, counsel with care and psychosocial awareness, but their online presence frequently lacks relatability and immediacy, and thus does not benefit from algorithmic favour. Patients who depend primarily on influencer content show greater distress and disadvantage with regard to skincare, with compulsive product use and delayed clinical care. When doctors communicate accessibly online, patient anxiety decreases and adherence improves. The doctor–skinfluencer divide is not only about evidence, it is also about emotional and narrative power. There is an argument for dermatologists to embed digital communication within job planning and training, speaking into this space with empathetic evidence-based online storytelling, to enable patients to navigate the online landscape with better care, safety and support.