“Black don’t crack.” It’s a statement I’ve lived by my whole life as a woman of color. For years, I believed my dark skin would guard me against aging. If you look at the older African-American women in my family or even celebrities like Gabrielle Union and Angela Bassett, it seems to hold true. But the older I get, the wiser I am about skincare—I am a beauty editor, after all. While my melanin surplus helps stave off wrinkles, it doesn’t guard against skin cancer or hyperpigmentation. That’s why I’ve started to get more serious about my skin-care regimen, and people with darker skin tones have specific issues to look out for. We spoke to two dermatologists who specialize in treating skin of color to get their tips for caring for brown skin.
If you’ve read any of my skin-care stories, you know I’m a stickler when it comes to sunscreen. But even I have to admit that I just started using a daily moisturizer with SPF a few years ago (don’t judge me). Sunscreen has always been a beach essential in my family. But when I learned how it could help slow skin aging, I became more serious about applying it every day.
“I explain to my patients of all ethnicities that we can all get photodamage. We simply show it differently on our skin,” says dermatologist Amy McMichael, M.D. “Those with darker skin tend to show photodamage with hyperpigmentation that worsens over time on the cheeks and lower face. An uneven complexion is the outcome of sun exposure in darker patients.”
The extra melanin does still have its advantages. “Darker skin individuals have more melanin content and are less prone to sunburn and UV damage over time,” says dermatologist Seemal Desai, M.D., president of the Skin of Color Society. “However it’s still important to wear sunscreen because skin cancer can still happen.”
Knowing you should wear sunscreen and actually doing it are two different things. It’s hard to find a moisturizer with SPF 30+ that blends with darker skin. Anything that’s chalky or pasty can make sunscreen a pain to wear. Try Glossier Invisible Shield ($34) and Roc 5-in-1 Chest, Neck, and Face Cream ($28).
Because of melanin’s ability to defend against UV damage and sunburn, it also protects darker skin tones against the signs of aging like wrinkles, brown spots, and visible blood vessels. So in most cases dark skin shows wrinkles and age spots a lot later in life. African-American skin also tends to have more oil, which protects against dryness and wrinkling. "African-American skin tends to have more sebum or oil content; some of that contains natural moisturizing factor so all of that can play a role into the look and asthetics of the skin because it’s less likely to be dry,” says Desai.
But that doesn't mean your skin couldn't benefit from a little help. Try using a retinol product like Dr. Brandt Skincare 2% Retinol Complex Serum ($69), which brightens and evens out skin tone. Desai also recommends using antioxidant-rich serum like SkinMedica GlyPro Antioxidant Serum ($125), which helps fight against the free radicals that lead to inflammation.
My mom would often slap my hand if she saw me picking at my pimples. That’s because darker skin is more prone to scarring and hyperpigmentation. Many dermatologists recommend swift and stringent treatment courses for acne, rashes, and eczema on brown skin tones. “Treating things like acne and other common skin conditions in darker skin type individuals, [I] tend to treat a little more aggressively because if you don’t you’re likely to end up leaving behind post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation,” says Desai. Once you have the underlying inflammation under control you can start to address any darkness or scarring that’s left behind. Which brings me to my next point.
Hyperpigmentation, or the darkening of the skin in a certain area, can be left over as a result of inflammation after a bout of acne or an eczema flare-up. Melasma, a skin condition marked by areas of hyperpigmentation, is more common in darker-skinned people, and often occurs post-pregnancy, following sun exposure, or after taking oral contraceptives. While sunscreen—and not picking!—can help prevent hyperpigmentation, if it does appear, there are topical products you can use to lighten darkened areas.
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Desai says the gold standard in lightening agents is hydroquinone. “Hydroquinone is a prescription lightening ingredient that helps to block the enzyme that makes the melanin,” he says. “It’s important to make sure that when you council patients to use hydroquinone, you let them know that it can be irritating to the skin that it can also cause a side effect where the skin becomes permanently pigmented by small brown deposits.”
McMichael uses hydroquinone for her patients, but also recommends physician-strength products that include brightening ingredients like azelaic acid, licorice, glycolic acid, and kojic acid. “I also remind my patients about sunscreen, because even the most even skin tone can develop hyperpigmentation after 5-10 minutes in the sun,” she says. Sun exposure can also darken any hyperpigmentation that is already visible.
While fair skin patients can handle laser treatments to get rid of brown spots or wrinkles, darker skin must be cautious using these types of machines. “We use certain resurfacing and fractionated resurfacing lasers for wrinkles and tightening, but we’d use caution on darker skin,” says Desai. “When you do things like laser, you’re applying heat that damages the melanin layer and can inflame the skin, further exacerbating a pigmentation issue and leaving behind that post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.”
This is also something to keep in mind when you consider laser hair removal treatments. These lasers target the melanin in hair. When you have dark hair and a dark complexion, it's harder for the lasers to distinguish between them, which can lead to burns or scars. However, there are some machines, like the Nd:Yag, that are better for darker skin tones. You always want to see a certified practitioner who has worked on brown skin before.
Not all derms are equally familiar with the particularities of darker skin. “It’s important that darker skin type patients seek out a dermatologist who is an expert in skin of color or who has work in treating pigmentary disorders,” says Desai. You can look for a dermatologist through AAD.org, and you can also search the Skin of Color Society to find a specialist in your area.
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