Top ten tips: Melanin skincare

“I regret taking such good care of my skin,” said nobody ever.

 Remember the days when we were told to severely scrub our faces, to pop all those pimples because they didn’t pay rent and that “if it stings, then it’s working.” Although those ideas proved to be quite interesting, they have not served us at all. On the contrary, they’ve contributed to damaging our skin cells. 

On top of that, many of us in the black community have had issues with loving our skin and taking proper care of it. I’m sure we can all agree that when it pertains to skincare, there are a lot of things that we need to ditch and many other things that we should embrace. With that being said, here are my top ten tips for melanin skincare.

Excessive cleansing

You should only be washing your face twice a day. Once in the morning and once again in the evening before you go to bed or whenever you have been sweating. Anything more than this is too much. Excessive cleansing dries out the skin and as a result the skin produces more oil. This only makes oily skin oilier and dry skin more sensitive. After cleansing do not wipe your face, rather pat it dry to avoid increasing skin sensitivity.

2. Scrubbing and physical exfoliation

If you’ve been scrubbing your face during each wash with some type of granulated scrub, a glove or a cleansing brush, now is the time to give it up. Don’t worry though, you won’t have to completely discard all your exfoliation tools, but you’ll definitely need to use them much less.
The skin on your face is much more sensitive than the one on the rest of your body. Excessive scrubbing and exfoliating makes tiny tears in your skin, severely damaging it. To avoid all of this drama, you should reduce exfoliation to 1-2 times a week depending on how clogged your pores can get. You can also use chemical exfoliators like face masks instead of physically exfoliating with face scrubs. They’re more lenient on your skin and do a great job of clearing out your pores.

Face Steaming

Face steaming is great for those of us who have issues with oily skin and clogged pores. It opens your pores and increases blood circulation, leaving you with clean and glowing skin. However, when it’s done more than necessary it can increase breakouts, cause inflammation and overheat your skin which may result in minor burns. It’s suggested that those with dry skin should skip steaming. It’s mainly recommend for combination and oily skin, and should be done not more than once a week

Water temperature

Washing your face with hot water will definitely dry out your skin and make it more sensitive. On the other hand, cold water does not thoroughly cleanse your skin. This is why warm water isrecommended for cleansing the skin on your face. It’s obvious that you won’t be accurate with achieving the precise temperature, which is perfectly fine. 
You can simply use your hand to test how much more hot water or cold water you should add. After the cleansing process, you can splash some cold water on your face to tighten your pores, help with blood circulation and to literally wake your skin upo.

Hygiene

• Make sure you wash your hands before beginning with your skincare routine
• Wash/change your face towel once a week
• Do not sleep with makeup on
• Try not to touch your face or pick and pop your pimples as this may cause bacteria to spread to the rest of your face which can result in more breakouts

• Change your bed sheets and pillowcases at least once a week
• Keep your phone and phone cover clean
• Wash your face mask after each use
• Use a spatula instead of your hands to dip into products or use products that come in bottles instead of tubs. This is to prevent the spread of bacteria from your hands to products.
• Wash your makeup tools regularly

6. Know your skin typeIt’s important to know your skin type so that you can understand what your skin needs. This is also useful for those of us who enjoy DIY- ing and creating our own  skincare concoctions. You can take an online skin type quiz to help you determine your skin type and the kinds of products you should and shouldn’t use.

7.Diet and exercise

This part definitely speaks to me because I can hardly stop myself from eating sugary snacks and to be honest, I don’t even like water. However, as people who are trying to level up, it’s important that we leave our bad habits behind and embrace the future with a tad bit of self-discipline.

Water in our bodies is lost in large quantities everyday so we need to drink enough water to replace it. Water also helps with the functioning of your cells so make sure you’re drinking enough of it. You should be drinking at least 2 liters a day, which is equivalent to about 8 glasses of water.
Please don’t over do it as there is such a thing as drinking too much water and it can be a bad thing too. If you’re starting your “drink enough water” journey, please take it easy. You probably won’t be drinking 8 glasses on the first day so you can begin with 3 or 4 glasses and and keep increasing until you reach 8 glasses.
Eating food that is high in sugar and cholesterol can disrupt collagen production which results in early signs of aging. These foods also raise blood sugar levels quickly. High sugar levels in the body can dry out the skin, increase inflammation and contribute to blocked pores. Excess sugar can also aggravate skin conditions such as acne and eczema. The moral here is to keep junk food consumption as low as possible for healthier skin.
Smoking denies the skin of oxygen which causes paleness, an uneven skin tone and wrinkles. Alcohol consumption dehydrates the skin causing wrinkles and increasing the visibility of your pores. All these factors contribute to early signs of aging, therefore one should avoid taking part in these activities or at least reduce alcohol consumption.

Excercise

Exercise increases blood flow to the skin and keeps your skin cells active and nourished. This flow of blood carries waste products such as free radicals away from the skin to your kidneys where they are flushed out of the body. The blood also carries nutrients and oxygen to the skin.

Exercise therefore aids in cleansing our skin from the inside and providing the necessary nutrients for the skin to flourish. Try exercising at least three times a week. You don’t have to start with intense 2 hour workout sessions. You can do 30 minute sessions and increase as you go along.

Sun protection

The sun is such a powerful entity. It supplies us with vitamin D which maintains strong bones, reduces stress, can increase your lifespan, improves your sleep and strengthens your immune system. However, the sun also releases ultraviolet rays which can damage the skin. These ultraviolet rays are broken into two categories.

• UVA (ultraviolet A)- These rays have long wavelengths, they penetrate the skin more than UVB rays and they can cause premature aging of the skin as well as skin cancer.
• UVB (ultraviolet B)- These rays have shorter wavelengths and are associated with sun burns.

Sun protection

• Sunscreen(chemical sun protection)- absorbs the sunlight and scatters it before it can penetrate the skin
• Sunblock(physical sun protection)-sits on your skin and blocks the sun’s rays from penetrating the skin by reflecting them

Both are effective so it’s up to you to choose which one you would prefer

SPF(sun protection factor)- is a measure of how long sunscreen will protect you from ultraviolet rays.
Melanin has an SPF of 4 but it’s not constant all over your skin and it is not enough to protect your skin from the sun for long periods of time.

Previously, sun lotions were made to suit people with lighter skin tones, hence the white film or cast it would leave after being applied. Now we have sun lotions that are made with natural ingredients that are good enough to not leave your skin with that white film we all dread. Some popular sun lotions that are suited for melanin skin are Black Girl Sunscreen, Glossier Invisible Shield, Unseen Sunscreen, Eucerin Sun Gel Creme and Cetaphil Sun just to name a few.

Dangers of the sun for the skin

• Excessive sun exposure without the necessary sun protection can cause sunburns, hyper-pigmentation or in severe cases, skin cancer.
• Melanoma(Malignant melanoma) is a type of skin cancer that develops from melanin producing cells called melanocytes. They usually occur on the legs and back. They can be removed through surgery and must be treated at an early stage or else they can become deadly.

How to protect yourself from the sun

• Wear protective clothes eg. a sun hat
• Stay in the shade between 10 am and 4 pm when the sun is the strongest
• Wear sun lotions with an SPF of 30 or more
• Wear sun lotions that include the words “broad spectrum” as they protect you from both UVB and UVA rays

9. Don’t skip the moisturizer
Skipping your daily moisturizer is a huge no-no. This can dry out your skin which contributes to collagen breakdown thus accelerating the aging process and contributing to more wrinkles. This dryness can cause your skin to look dull and flaky, aggravate acne conditions and increase your skins sensitivity.

The cleansers, masks and treatments that we use for our skin can be quite drying therefore skipping your moisturizer means that you are losing a layer of protection. On top of that your makeup will not look good at all as makeup sticks to dry and wrinkled skin making your face look cakey.

10. Love thy skin! 

    Love is patient, love is kind-1 Corinthians 13:4

During this journey of taking better care of your already beautiful skin, it is important to love your skin. All your skin problems will not vanish in one day so please be patient. Be kind to your skin. Treat it like your baby. Take it one step at a time and please don’t compare your skin to others’. 

Your skin is different to theirs’ and so is your journey, so make sure you’re focusing on you. Believe that you will reach your skin goals. Write them down and even pray about them. Lastly, don’t give up. It could take you months and even years to find the right routine and products. 

I’m still in the process of finding the perfect spot treatment for my skin so you can only imagine how many pimple breakouts I’ve had in the last few months but I’m not allowing that to discourage me. Who knows? You might be one step away from achieving your ultimate skincare goal so  please don’t give up.

Let’s recap!

1. No more excessive cleansing

2. Limit scrubbing and exfoliation

3. Limit face steaming

4. Use correct water temperature

5. Practice good hygiene

6.Know your skin type

7. Maintain a healthy, balanced diet

8. Protect your skin from the sun

9. Don’t skip your moisturizer

10. Love your skin

Don’t be too shy to express your thoughts in the comments section.

Much love

Omela