Black Women Makeup Tips

Top dermatologists advise on tips to preserve your dark skin's smooth, rich tone Forget the old-school stereotypes, like black skin's always oily. There's little about African-American skin that is safely assumed, except that it can be supersensitive — its pigmentation, called melanin, may rebel against the wrong products by developing a discoloration that can stick around for months or years. Take these skin-safe tips to heart. The nation's top dermatologists advise following these rules to preserve your dark skin's smooth, rich tone:


• Stick with a Simple and Safe Skin Care Routine: Cleanse your face daily — as little as once a day if it's dry, up to three times if your goal is to remove excess oil. Gentle treatment is the key for any skin type. Avoid abrasive cleansers or irritating cleansing puffs or loofahs. And use moisturizer only if your face feels dry without it.



• Pick the Best Products for Your Skin Type: Experts' favorites are nothing fancy — pharmacy brands will usually do — but use products designed for your skin type. Favour products for sensitive skin, especially if your skin is dry — products with harsh ingredients such as benzyl peroxide and salicylic acid can wreak havoc on certain skin types. Want to try something new on for size? Go ahead, but use it sparingly at first.



• Protect You from Skin Cancer: Darker skin does provide some protection from the sun's UV rays, but don't count on it alone. Skin cancer is less common, but can be more deadly, in those with darker skin. Begin each day by applying a sunscreen or moisturizer with an SPF 15 to 30. And reapply sun protection often while you're in direct sunlight.



• Mind Your Skin when you’re taking Certain Medications: Many drugs increase sun sensitivity, making it especially important to apply sunscreen or avoid the sun altogether. Among these medications are birth control pills, antibiotics, acne medicines and cancer drugs. But there are many others, too. Ask your doctor if your medicine makes the list.



• Get Help in a Hurry When Your Skin's in Distress: Whether your problem is acne or another condition, it's much easier to prevent problems from lingering if you address them promptly. A trip to the dermatologist might save your skin — and even save you money by preventing you from purchasing panoply of products to wage the battle against the condition.



• Avoid the Common Makeup Mistakes: Match your makeup with your skin tone for a natural look. "Makeup made especially for women of colour has come a long way," says dermatologist Wendy Roberts, M.D., who adds there's nothing wrong with relatively cheap drugstore brands. Have dry skin? Oil-based makeup is best. And for acne-prone, oily skin, water-based is the way to go.



• Seek out a Specialist for Prescription Therapies or Cosmetic Surgery: When you want more advanced skin care than you can apply yourself at home, there are professional treatments that might help both low- and high-tech. Whether you're thinking about a prescription acne drug, facial peel, micro-dermabrasion, laser treatment or other approach, ask around for an expert in treating dark skin. In inexperienced hands, these more complex skin therapies can end up ruining your look rather than rejuvenating it.



Make up tips for Black Women

Black women have a wide variety of skin tones – from lighter to darker and everything in between. And while makeup lines have improved vastly in the last five years, it’s still a tricky undertaking to find the right shade for your skin tone. So finding the right makeup for your personal skin tone can be a tricky thing. If you choose the wrong colour family, you can find yourself with a flat complexion or an ashen look. Only by trial and error, you will find a colour combination that works for you. Here are three simple steps to help you on your way:

1. Pay attention to your undertones. Look beyond your skin’s colour (overtone) to find the undertones that give definition to your features. For instance, rich ebony complexions often have cool undertones (look for colours in the blue family). Brown and caramel complexions may have warmer undertones (look for golden colours). Once you determine which colours are yours, use them as accents – especially around your eyes.

2. Find your colour family – not just what you think is your colour family. You might be surprised at just how off many women are when it comes to an accurate assessment of the colours that work for them. You may need the help of a makeup specialist or a store cosmetic counter. In fact, get a second opinion. And remember that foundation can look very different on your face than in the bottle or on that thumbnail palette, so be sure to test it on your jaw line or on the inside of your wrist to see if it will work for you.

Tip: If your complexion is uneven, you may need two different colours of foundation that can be used together. When spread correctly over the right areas, a two-colour approach can give you the even skin tone you’re looking for.

3. Use blush to contour your cheekbones. Here is one area where less is definitely more – especially if you use a more exotic colour. A simple brush of currant or mauve can really set off and flatter a medium to dark complexion, while a sweep of caramel, honey or apricot can give definition to a medium to light complexion.

Tip: Bronzer can be used as an effective alternative to blush if you have a warmer complexion. Try dusting a light coating over your face, concentrating contoured strokes at your temples and cheekbones.




Something to Think About

When selecting a makeup, colour should not be your only concern. Remember your skin type. If you have normal to oily skin, a water-based liquid foundation and a cream blush may work best for you. On the other hand, normal to dry skin can benefit from an entire line of cream formulas. Secret to Black Skin & Beauty care A good understand of the role of melanin in black skin is important. This includes people from Africa, African Americans, the Caribbean and South Pacific Islands. It's the melanin that gives skin its colour and protects it from sunlight, and also keeps you looking younger for years longer! Black skin care involves the use of quality skin care products that feed your skin, without leaving it feeling oily and dry. Type of skin conditions:

Ashy skin: Ashy skin appears when the skin is starved of moisture and dry. By increasing the oil content in your skin care regime, you can reduce the appearance of ashy skin.If your skin appears ashy, use a creamy cleanser to wash away impurities and dirt, and then rinse away with warm water. To refresh your skin, use a light toner of witch hazel wiped over the face with a damp cotton wool ball. Finally, choose a good quality creamy moisturizer to nourish your dry skin. Apply with your fingertips and gently massage in upward movements. A moisturizer containing cocoa butter works well on most black skins. If you have an oily T-zone, blot excess moisturizer off with a tissue.


Keloids and scars (Keloids is a type of scar which results in an overgrowth of tissue at the site of a healed skin injury): Black skin are more prone to developing Keloids, which is a build-up of scar tissue at the site of a wound or injury. Even pimples can leave a Keloids scar. Try putting Vitamin E cream on spots to help them heal.Hyper pigmentation: This is irregular or dark discoloration of the skin and is often find in African American skin types. Alpha and beta hydroxyl acids and dermabrasion (abrasion sanding) can help control these areas.



Tips: how long to keep make up products for?

Most black women will agree that they keep and use most of their makeup far too long. The truth is; make up does not last forever! And it easily degrades and eventually should not be used anymore to avoid serious skin health problems. Below are some solutions regarding the following agonizing question: How long should I keep using the same make for? Knowing when to throw away old makeup is very important. And, equally important, knowing when to throw away old make up applicators. This will help to eliminate serious bacteria problems that are caused by using contaminated make up.

Foundation Make Up: Do not keep or use liquid base make up foundations for longer than four to six months. Powder make up foundations should not be used for longer than one year.

Blush Make up: Powder blush make up should not be used for longer than one year.

Eye Shadow Make up: Eye shadow make up should not be used for longer than two years.


Tips for Black Sensitive Skin

As we age our skin also ages with wrinkles caused by loss of subcutaneous tissue and years of damage from the sun. We also lose colour from our skin and hair and very often looked faded and drab which makes us feel older. Cosmetics have been used for thousands of years to help women (and even men) look and feel younger, but for those with sensitive skin using cosmetics can be an expensive challenge of trial and error. These tips from dermatologist experts can help you find the best cosmetics for sensitive skin. Choose powder when possible. Powder cosmetics are not only great at removing shine; they have very few preservatives and contain minimal ingredients that can cause skin irritation. This means powder cosmetics are much less likely to cause problems for women with sensitive skin than their liquid counterparts.



1. Avoid waterproof cosmetics. While waterproof cosmetics, such as mascara, are great for tearful moments, they require a solvent to remove them that also removes sebum, the oily substance made by the sebaceous glands in the skin. Without this oily barrier, skin is exposed to potential irritants that can cause a beauty breakout.

2. Throw out old cosmetics. "Women should keep track of cosmetic expiration dates. They should throw away items that have passed their expiry date". Old make up products may have spoiled or become contaminated, a particularly important point when it comes to eye products." A few standard product life spans include: one year for foundation and lipstick; three-to-four months for mascara; and two years for powder and shadows. It is also important to wash make-up brushes and sponges regularly since they can harbour dirt and germs that will aggravate sensitive skin.

3. Use black-colour eyeliner and mascara products. Women with sensitive skin will find that dramatic black is best when it comes to eyeliner and mascara product colours. Dermatologists feel that black is the least allergenic of all colorants.Stick to earth-toned eye shadows. Lighter earth tones, such as tan, cream, white or beige, seem to cause less upper-eyelid irritation in women with sensitive or itchy eyes. "It is possible that the higher concentration of pigments in darker colours like navy blue can cause an adverse reaction in women with sensitive skin".

4. Use pencil eyeliner and eyebrow fillers. According to dermatologists, "Pencil eyeliner and eyebrow pencils are wax-based and contain pigment and minimal preservatives. They are much less likely to cause problems than liquid eyeliners that contain latex and may cause problems in latex-sensitive individuals." The pencil forms of these cosmetics are also water removable, making them easier on the surface of the skin.

5. Check sunscreen ingredients. Dermatologists recommend daily use of a broad-spectrum sunscreen with a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) 15 or higher. For women with sensitive skin, this sunscreen should only contain the physical sunscreen ingredients zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. Unlike chemical sunscreen agents that absorb UV rays, it is impossible to be allergic to physical sunscreen ingredients since they deflect the rays rather than absorb them.

6. Use products that contain no more than 10 ingredients. Simply stated, the fewer ingredients in a product, the less likely it is that the product will cause a problem.

7. Avoid nail polishes. In addition to being easily smudged and chipped, wet nail polish can be transferred to a person's eyes and face before it dries. This casual transfer can cause problems for women with sensitive skin if they find the polish irritating or have an allergic reaction to any of the components of the polish.

8. Use foundations based on silicone. While powder is preferred to protect sensitive skin, women choosing a liquid foundation should look for one with a silicone base. Liquid facial foundations based on silicone do not cause acne, and silicone has a very low incidence of skin irritation.



Dermatix recommended skin treatment for scars by dermatologists

Before trying any treatment as a cause of action, please consult your doctor to ensure that you are doing the right thing.Dermatix is a transparent, self drying silicone gel that maintains the skins moisture balance while aiding the healing of damaged skin surface resulting from surgery and/or injury. Soften, flatten and reduce discoloration - Improves scars, Rebuilds confidence. The manufacturers suggest a number of benefits, which include; ability to apply cosmetics over the gel, suitability for sensitive skin, including children, ease of use, and high patient acceptability.
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