Natural Black Skin Care-Dos and Don’ts

Just because the product packaging has the photo of a black woman on it doesn’t always mean that the product is best suited for women of color, unfortunately. Natural black skin care requires different ingredients and care than other types of skin care.

First, to get natural black skin care, you should begin with your diet. Getting plenty of water, exercise, and rest is important to your overall health as well as your skin. You need water to hydrate your skin. Coffee and caffeine won’t cut it because they can actually dry your skin out, even though coffee does contain antioxidants which fight free radicals. White tea and green tea contain antioxidants and are good for you as an alternative, as is one glass of red wine per day which can actually help lessen the effects of aging. Try to steer clear of fried and fatty foods and instead sauté and boil when you can.

You should also use a good moisturizer in your natural black skin care regimen. Dark skin can look ashy. You don’t need an expensive moisturizer-just something that will hydrate well. For darker skin, cocoa butter is a great moisturizer to use. You should try to apply it while your body is still damp from the shower because it will soak in better.

Cocoa butter is particular effective for natural black skin care. It’s good to use in the winter when the air is colder and therefore drier. Cocoa butter can make your skin smoother and combat the ashy look that you can get. It can also be used to help with stretch marks as well as hyperpigmentation. Hyperpigmentation is a skin condition that affects many women of color.

Ensure that you always wash off your makeup before you go to bed. Leaving your makeup on overnight can actually cause premature aging because it blocks your pores.

You must also wear sunscreen in order to prevent sun damage. Just because your skin is dark doesn’t mean that you can’t get skin cancer or wrinkle. A product with SPF 15 or higher is suggested.

As a woman with dark skin, you should avoid using the following products as part of your natural black skin care.

Using cleansers or toners that contain fragrance, dyes, or alcohol as these can irritate your skin.

Using products that contain oils that are extracted from plants.

Using sunscreens that have PABA or fragrance.

Using makeup that has oil included.

Using moisturizers with alcohol.

Using bleaching creams with steroids.

Having a balanced diet with foods that contain Omega-3s like salmon, foods like blueberries that have antioxidants which fight free radicals, and foods with Vitamin B such as bananas, are very important in your natural black skin care regimen. You don’t always have to go out and spend a lot of money on expensive products. Sometimes the best products are not only natural, but those that have been around for a long time and have stood the test of time and use.