Overt signs of skin aging can differ in type, onset and magnitude across individuals of different races. To understand the molecular basis for these differences, we conducted a study with women of four races/ethnicities spanning in age from 20 to mid-70s; we named this study the MultiDecades and Ethnic (MDE) Study. U.S. women volunteers were African-American, Hispanic and Chinese with ∼25 women in the age groups of 20-24, 40-44, and 60-64 years, and European-descended Caucasian women across each decade from 20-24 to 70-74 years. Skin samples were obtained from both photoexposed (face, outer forearm) and photoprotected (buttocks) body sites; the degree of photoaging was confirmed by histologic assessment of dermal elastosis. RNA was extracted from full thickness biopsies or from laser capture microdissected skin samples, and transcriptomics profiling was conducted using Affymetrix HG-U219 gene arrays. Solar elastosis was most pronounced in the sun-exposed skin (face, arm) of the Caucasian women as early as the 40s. However, elastosis was also apparent in the skin of women with darker skin tones, especially Hispanic and Chinese in their 60s, although less so in the skin of the African-American women. These results suggest that even women of darker skin tones need to include sun protection as part of their skin care regimen. Bioinformatics analysis of gene expression data included integrated biologic network analysis comparing epidermis and dermis. This analysis indicated that major biologic pathways that changed in expression with age differed across the epidermis and dermis. Also, age-related gene expression changes within the dermis were more in common across races than those in the epidermis, suggesting promising approaches for cross-racial as well as race-specific and individualized skin care products.