Oma Agbai, M.D.
My top priority is delivering the highest level of medical care to my patients while providing a personal touch. I aim to provide holistic skin care, focusing on healthy skin and hair from the inside out.
Oma Agbai is a Health Sciences Associate Clinical Professor of Dermatology and Founding Director of Multicultural Dermatology and Hair Restoration at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine in Sacramento, California. She is a board-certified dermatologist with recognized expertise in the comprehensive diagnosis and treatment of hair and scalp disorders, integrating medical management of alopecia with procedural hair restoration, including regenerative therapies such as platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections, and surgical hair transplantation using follicular unit extraction (FUE) and follicular unit transplantation (FUT). Her clinical practice emphasizes individualized, evidence-based treatment planning across diverse hair types and skin tones, with a focus on achieving lasting, natural outcomes.
Agbai also provides expert care in medical and cosmetic dermatology for patients of all skin types, with particular expertise in pigmentary disorders and conditions that disproportionately affect patients with skin of color. Conditions commonly treated include hair thinning and alopecia, acne-associated hyperpigmentation, melasma, and other disorders of pigmentation and texture.
Her clinical interests are grounded in a strong background in clinical research in alopecia, pigmentary disorders, and multicultural dermatology. Agbai is a co-author of numerous peer-reviewed publications and book chapters and has presented nationally on topics including hair loss disorders, novel systemic therapies for vitiligo, innovative treatments for hyperpigmentation, and photoprotection strategies for patients of color. Her scholarly work has been published in high-impact journals such as the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, JAMA Dermatology, and the British Journal of Dermatology.
Agbai received her Bachelor of Science degree from Emory University and her Doctor of Medicine degree from Temple University School of Medicine. She completed an Internal Medicine internship at Pennsylvania Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, followed by the C.S. Livingood Clinical Research Fellowship in Dermatology at Henry Ford Hospital and residency training in Dermatology at UC Davis Health.
She is actively engaged in education and public outreach and appears regularly as a dermatology contributor on regional television programs including Good Day Sacramento and KCRA3 Sacramento, frequently addressing topics related to skin and hair health. Agbai is also featured in national media outlets such as The New York Times and The Washington Post. She is a TEDx speaker, a Castle Connolly Top Doctor, and has been recognized by her peers as a Top Doctor in Sacramento, California.
Title:
Health Sciences Clinical Professor
Director, Multicultural Dermatology and Hair Disorders
Undergraduate Education: Emory University
Medical Education: Temple University School of Medicine
Internship: University of Pennsylvania Health System, Internal Medicine
Fellowship: Henry Ford Hospital, C.S. Livingood Clinical Research Fellow
Residency: University of California, Davis Medical Center, Dermatology
Selected Recent Peer-reviewed Publications:
1. Sheppard TK, Quiñonez RL, Burgess CM, Taylor SC, Agbai ON. Cosmetic Laser Procedures and Nonsurgical Body Contouring in Patients with Skin of Color. Cutis. 2025 Aug;116(2):58-64. doi: 10.12788/cutis.1254. PMID: 41056122.
2. Carrington AE, Maloh J, Nong Y, Agbai ON, Bodemer AA, Sivamani RK. The Gut and Skin Microbiome in Alopecia: Associations and Interventions. J Clin Aesthet Dermatol. 2023 Oct;16(10):59-64. PMID: 37915336; PMCID: PMC10617895.
3. Hai J, Meyer SN, Agbai ON. Treatment of Frontal Fibrosing Alopecia in Black Patients: A Systematic Review. Cutis. 2023 April;111(4):186-190,E1-E2 | doi:10.12788/cutis.0750. 2023 Apr.
4. Quinoñez R, Agbai ON, Burgess C, Taylor SC. An Update on Cosmetic Procedures in People of Color Part 1: Scientific background, assessment, pre-procedure preparation. J Am Acad Dermatol. E-pub 2022 Feb.
5. Quinoñez R, Agbai ON, Burgess C, Taylor SC. An Update on Cosmetic Procedures in People of Color Part 2: Neuromodulators, Soft Tissue Augmentation, Chemexfoliating Agents, and Laser Hair Reduction. J Am Acad Dermatol. E-pub 2022 Feb.
6. Wilson BN, McMichael A, Alexis A, Agbai O, Elbuluk N, Callender V, Burgess CM, Taylor SC. Telemedicine Alopecia Assessment: Highlighting Patients with Skin of Color. Cutis. 2022 Jan;109(1):40-42. doi: 10.12788/cutis.0419. PMID: 35180055.
7. Foolad N, Alber S, Agbai ON, Eisen DB, Tartar D. Characteristics of patients with hidradenitis suppurativa seen at a tertiary care facility from 2009-2019: a retrospective chart review study. Dermatol Online J. 2021 Jan 15;27(1):13030/qt7655j488. PMID: 33560801.
8. Pourang A, Ornelas J, Fung MA, Agbai O. Umbilical endometriosis: When a dermatologist helps diagnose infertility. Int J Women’s Dermatol. 2020 Aug 20;6(5):460-461.
9. Toussi A, Barton VR, Le ST, Agbai ON, Kiuru M. Psychosocial and psychiatric comorbidities and health-related quality of life in alopecia areata: a systematic review [published online ahead of print, 2020 Jun 16]. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2020;S0190-9622(20)31144-0. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2020.06.047
10. Fernandez J.M, Ludwig C.M, PRICE K.N, Marr K.D, Hendricks A.J, Mata E.M, Thompson A.M, Maarouf M., Agbai ON, Maverakis E., Shi V.Y, Hsiao J.L. Menses, pregnancy, and menopause in hidradenitis suppurativa. International Journal of Women's Dermatology. 2020, Jun; 6(3): 221-222.
11. Raffi J, Suresh R, Agbai O. Clinical recognition and management of alopecia in women of color. Int J Women’s Dermatol. 2019 Aug 22;5(5):314-319. doi: 10.1016/j.ijwd.2019.08.005. PMID: 31909150; PMCID: PMC6938875.
12. Jeon C, Agbai O, Butler D, Murase J. Dermatologic conditions in patients of color who are pregnant. International J of Women's Dermatol. Apr 2017 Apr;3:30–36.
13. Agbai ON, Hamzavi I, Jagdeo J. Laser Treatments for Postinflammatory Hyperpigmentation: A Systematic Review. JAMA Dermatol. Published online 2016 Dec 14.
14. Agbai ON, Davari P, Johnson J, Armstrong A, Fazel N. Effect of a Pre-Treatment Educational Video in Improving Patient Satisfaction with 5-Fluorouracil Treatment for Actinic Keratoses: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Dermatol Ther (Heidelb). 2016 Dec;6(4):675-681.
15. Isedeh P, Kohli I, Al-Jamal M, Agbai ON, Chaffins M, Devpura S, Mahan M, Vanderover G, Lim HW, Matsui MS, Hamzavi IH. An in vivo model for postinflammatory hyperpigmentation: an analysis of histological, spectroscopic, colorimetric and clinical traits. Br J Dermatol. Br J Dermatol. 2016 Apr;174(4):862-8.
16. Ornelas J, Agbai ON, Kiuru M, Sivamani RK. Alopecia as the Presenting Symptom of Syphilis. Dermatol Online J. 2015 Jul 15;21(7). pii: 13030/qt7q58360j.
17. Lim HW, Grimes PE, Agbai O, Hamzavi I, Henderson M, Haddican M, Linkner RV, Lebwohl M. Afamelanotide and Narrowband UV-B Phototherapy for the Treatment of Vitiligo: A Randomized Multicenter Trial. JAMA Dermatol. 2014 Sep 17. doi: 10.1001/jamadermatol.2014.1875.
18. Agbai ON, Buster K, Sanchez M, Hernandez C, Kundu RV, Chiu M, Roberts WE, Draelos ZD, Bhushan R, Taylor SC, Lim HW. Skin cancer and photoprotection in people of color: a review and recommendations for physicians and the public. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2014 Apr;70(4):748-62.
19. Fisk WA, Agbai O, Lev-Tov HA, Sivamani RK. The use of botanically derived agents for hyperpigmentation: a systematic review. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2014 Feb;70(2):352-65.
20. Shi YL, Weiland M, Li J, Hamzavi I, Henderson M, Huggins RH, Mahmoud BH, Agbai O, Mi X, Dong Z, Lim HW, Mi QS, Zhou L. MicroRNA expression profiling identifies potential serum biomarkers for non-segmental vitiligo. Pigment Cell Melanoma Res. 2013 May;26(3):418-21.
21. Pattamadilok B, Devpura S, Syed ZU, Agbai ON, Vemulapalli P, Henderson M, Rehse SJ, Mahmoud BH, Lim HW, Naik R, Hamzavi IH. Quantitative skin color measurements in acanthosis nigricans patients: colorimetry and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Photodermatol Photoimmunol Photomed. 2012 Aug;28(4):213-5.
22. Zhou L, Li K, Shi YL, Hamzavi I, Gao TW, Henderson M, Huggins RH, Agbai O, Mahmoud B, Mi X, Lim HW, Mi QS. Systemic analyses of immunophenotypes of peripheral T cells in non-segmental vitiligo: implication of defective natural killer T cells. Pigment Cell Melanoma Res. 2012 Sep;25(5):602-11.
23. Wilson JM, Ross WG, Agbai ON, Frazier R, Figler RA, Rieger J, Linden J, Ernst PB. The A2B adenosine receptor impairs the maturation and immunogenicity of dendritic cells. J Immunol. 2009 Apr 15;182(8):4616-23.
