Community advocate Cynthea Corfah discusses her experience of living with eczema and the desire for connection that led her to start an eczema support community for Black women.

Members of racial and ethnic minorities often face challenges managing eczema.

Although research among adults is limited, a 2021 research review notes that Black and Latinx children with eczema tend to have more severe symptoms than white children with the condition. Black and Latinx children are also more likely to visit the emergency department for treatment, possibly as a result of difficulty accessing primary care doctors and specialists.

Socioeconomic inequalities, racial bias in healthcare and skin research, and other barriers may add to the challenges that people of color face when managing eczema.

Healthline spoke with Cynthea Corfah to learn about her experiences as a Black woman managing eczema and supporting other women of color with the condition.

Cynthea is a 31-year-old community advocate who has been living with eczema since she was a child. In 2025, she founded the Black Girls With Eczema support community, which provides a safe space for Black women with eczema to connect with each other through Instagram and monthly support calls. Here’s what she had to say.

This interview has been edited for brevity, length, and clarity.

I’ve had eczema since I was a child, but it’s more recently taken off since I was around 25. When I was a kid, it kind of ebbed and flowed, and I had occasional flares here and there. But when I was in my mid-20s, I stopped taking topical steroids, I went through the topical steroid withdrawal process, and it became a much larger part of my life.

I stopped taking topical steroids because I felt like I was using these ointments and still having active flares. When you’re prescribed them, they say to discontinue them after 2 weeks of use, and that just wasn’t working for me. It felt like this endless cycle.

Then I started seeing people online sharing their journeys of healing naturally, whether by changing their diet or using organic skin care products or things like that. That gave me hope that I would be able to heal naturally.

Of course, as many of us are now more open about, that process is not easy.

I ended up having another health condition at the same time I was trying to withdraw from topical steroids. I had thyroid cancer, and that led me to getting back on topical steroids.

I’ve now tried a little bit of everything. I’ve tried light therapy, I’ve tried biologics, I’ve tried topical steroids. So now I’m just kind of in this place of “What else can I do?” I’m exploring traditional Chinese medicine. And I’m trying therapy. I really want to explore the mind-body connection and how my stress manifests in eczema.

I’ll add that this is a very expensive condition, from health insurance to copays to gauze and things like that. I mean, I’ve got two baskets next to my bed full of medical supplies.

If you add on the extra layer of being a person of color, being disproportionately affected by poverty or by economic difficulties, it’s a multilayered struggle.

It’s so much more than skin-deep. It’s a very complex condition, and I would love if more people would talk about the extra layers around eczema. I think that’s worth exploring.

I’ve also had a hard time finding doctors that really listen to me. It’s hard to say whether it’s racial bias or not, but I’ve had a hard time finding a dermatologist that listens to me and pays attention to what I want and what I don’t want and really understands and cares.

I went to my first Eczema Expo and saw another Black woman there and was like, “Oh my god, your hands look just like mine!” Because I’d never seen hands that look like mine.

It was so cool to feel this sense of belonging. I felt so seen and understood. And I started getting this idea: Black girls with eczema, Black girls with eczema.

In 2024, I started the @blackgirlswitheczema Instagram handle. But I didn’t post anything.

Then, the last 2 years at Eczema Expo, I hosted a Sister Circle, which was a support group for Black girls. That was kind of me testing the waters to see: Is there a need? Are there even enough Black women with eczema who want to talk about this?

And each session, it just got bigger and bigger. This last year, it was huge! The session was over capacity, we had to add chairs, and we could not stop talking. The list of topics just grows and grows — we can talk about hair, we can talk about nails, we can talk about colorism, we can talk about so many things.

So, I finally pulled the Band-Aid off for Black Girls With Eczema. I think the day after I returned home from Expo last year, I made the first post. And from then on, it’s just been growing.

Black women all over the world are flocking to this page because they feel like I felt, which is: “Oh, wow. There are other women out there in the world who have flares that look just like mine, skin that looks just like mine, and are experiencing a lot of the same things.”

It’s been a beautiful thing to watch it grow.

It’s still very much in its early stages, and I’m very excited to see where we go from here.

For one, I would say, really lean into community and build your knowledge. So many people are now taking initiative to build community around this condition. It’s amazing to see.

I would probably start with the National Eczema Association. They update their website, and they have a regular newsletter, and they’re constantly sharing research.

And of course, Black Girls With Eczema, if you’re a Black woman or a woman of color. I want to be clear that if you’re Latina or Indian or any woman of color and you don’t know where to start, please come to us. We will help.

Tap into the online communities that exist and lean on them for support. Ask treatment questions. Ask about real-life experiences. Tap into the community that’s living with this condition.

With that knowledge, go into your doctor’s appointments with notes, research talking points, questions. I never go into a dermatologist appointment without at least three questions. That way, we’re utilizing our time wisely.

Also, demand that you get help. If one doctor doesn’t have the information, ask them: Who else can they refer you to? Who else can you talk to? If they can’t give you the answers or support you need, then it’s time to dump them. Just like you can break up with a person or a therapist, I’m a firm believer in breaking up with doctors.

Try different dermatologists, different specialists, or even primary care. Whoever is going to make you feel safe and seen and understood — like they’re actually present and listening to you and want you to heal.

Cynthea Corfah is a 31-year-old eczema advocate, community builder, and journalist living in New Orleans, Louisiana. She founded Black Girls With Eczema in 2025 as an Instagram-based support community for Black women living with eczema and topical steroid withdrawal.