Introduction: Our skin is exposed daily to substances; many of these are neutral and safe but others are potentially harmful. In order to estimate the degree of toxicity and damage to skin tissues when exposed to harmful substances, skin toxicology studies are required. If these studies are coupled with suitably designed mathematical models, they can provide a powerful tool that allows appropriate interpretation of data. This work reviews mathematical models that can be employed in skin toxicology studies. Areas covered: Two types of mathematical models and their suitability for assessing skin toxicology are covered in this review. The first is focused on predicting penetration rate through the skin from a solute's physicochemical properties, while the second type of models transport processes in skin layers using appropriate equations with the specific aim of predicting the concentration of a given solute in viable skin tissues. Expert opinion: Mathematical models are an important tool for accurate valuation of skin toxicity experiments, estimation of skin toxicity and for developing new formulations for skin disease therapy. Comprehensive mathematical models of drug transport in skin, especially those based on more physiologically detailed mechanistic considerations of transport processes, are required to further enhance their role in assessing skin toxicology.