2019-10-01 Cosmopolitan UK

COSMOPOLITAN · 99

dermatologistforLaRoche-Posay.

“Thisgivessomeprotectionfrom

theravagesofUV,butit alsomakes

darklypigmentedskinmore

vulnerabletodyspigmentation

[areasofunevenskintone],aswell

asexacerbatinguneventextureand

dermatosispapulosanigra,which

arethosemole-liketiny

bumpsontheskin.”They

arecompletelybenign,

butnotnecessarily

a greatlook.

Andit’snotjustour

appearancethat’saffected.

“Despitebeinglesslikely

todevelopskincancers

likemelanoma,theblack

demographichasa higher

mortalityrateforskincancers

becausewehavelessknowledge

ofthemwithinourcommunity.

It leadstoa lowappreciationofsun

protectionanda lowerawareness

ofhowtomonitorourskinfor

changesandseekmedicaladvice

quickly,”warnsAyodele.

Thelackofrepresentationis

whatledAyodeletocreatea social

campaignthroughBlackSkin

Directoryinconjunctionwith

sun-carebrandUltrasun.“Black

peopleneedtobeeducatedjust

asmuchabouttherisksofUVas

thewhitepopulation,”shesays.

“Essentiallythethinkinghereis,

‘Youdon’tdieinhighenough

numbersforustotalktoyouabout

it’– andthatneedstobeputright.”

CLINICALLYSPEAKING

Thingsgeteventrickierwhenyou’re

dealingwithcertainclinical

treatments.Laserenergy,for

example,is attractedto

pigment– that’showit

zapssmalldarklesions,

bloodvesselsandhairs.

Soit’snothardtosee

how,inthehands

ofanill-educated

therapist,it can

seriouslyburn

skinsthataredarklypigmentedall

over.“Laseris certainlysuitablefor

blackskin,butyouneeda specific

type,”saysDrEjikeme.“TheNd:YAG

is thesafestforblackskinbecauseit’s

abletodifferentiateshadesofbrown.”

Moreoptionsareenteringthe

market,butyouneeda reputable

andexperienced

dermatologistor

specialistwhoworks

witha rangeof

machines(notjust

onetheytrytopushon

everypatient)toknow

you’reinsafehands.

Whenit comesto

chemicalpeelstoeven

outskintoneortexture,

goinginonblackskinallguns

blazingcanhavetheopposite

effectofwhatyou’retryingto

achieve.Aggressive(andfast-acting)

acidssuchasglycolicandTCAcan

createa surgeofinflammationthat

willcausepigmentationratherthan

fadeit.If a therapistisn’tskilful

enoughtomitigatethisproblem,

you’llendupfurtherfromhome

thanyoustarted.Atherclinicin

London’sChelsea,Thomas’s

philosophyis tobuildresistanceand

strengthbystartingona mildacid

suchasazelaic;forblackskinin

particular,thisis exceedingly

important.Likedoingtequila

slammerswithoutyearsofApple

Sourzshotsunderyourbelt,you’ve

gottoworkuptosomethingsinlife.

Dermatologicalskinconditions

that(often)requireprofessionalhelp

tostopthemgettingworse,suchas

acneandrosacea,presentdifferently

asyoumoveupthecolourgradient.

Hereagain,informationtargetedat

peopleofcolouris scarce,makingit

difficulttodiagnoseproblems.Take

rosacea:itscharacteristicredness

canberatherhardtospotonvery

darkskin,makingit importantto

recogniseothersymptoms,suchas

irritation,inflamedlesionsandskin

thatfeelspersistentlyhottothe›

[water-attracting] ingredients such
as hyaluronic acid and glycerine, plus
light lipids such as ceramides, tend
to be a better option for many
non-Caucasian skin types that are
often both dehydrated and oily.
More education around colour-
specific problems is needed, says Dr
Ifeoma Ejikeme of Adonia Medical
Clinic when we speak over the phone
one night. She says, “A skincare range
doesn’t have to say ‘this is specifically
for black skin’ but can say ‘this is for
post-inflammatory pigmentation’,”
which, with the right education and
messaging, women of colour will
begin to realise is perfect for them
specifically. “As a black woman
myself,” she continues, “I want to be
able to go to the shops and have lots
of options in every price category for
my skin, but sometimes there are
issues that are unique to black skin.
Companies need to think about
addressing those specific problems.”

A BURNING ISSUE
Never is this more pertinent than
when it comes to SPF. Try to think
about the last time you saw a person
of colour in a sun-care advert and
you’ll be racking your brains for a
while. “Many women of colour believe
they don’t need sun protection and
this couldn’t be more wrong,” says
skin specialist Bianca Estelle of Bea
Skin Clinic. I hang my head in shame.
For years I bought into the notion
that black people “don’t burn” and it’s
taken me until this year to incorporate
it into my daily skincare regime.
Because while,yes,ourskindoes
offer a level ofnaturalSPF(cheers,
melanin), it’s notenoughto
completely
protect us from
harmful UVAand
UVB rays. “Black
epidermis, on
average, provides
an SPF of 13.4,”
says Dr Justine
Hextall, consultant

“I want to

be able to

go shopping

and have

options”

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