Black dollars matter. Period. Black women influence the market & what is best for the Black woman’s health is going to ultimately be the best for everyone’s health. Black women have power in their spending. So ask yourself. Who will you spend with? Who is marketing to you? Who is the product created for? What is the intention of the company/brand in creating such a product?
Read MoreProducts that are marketed to Black women are generally found to include the biggest offending ingredients in them. And two, only 25% of our products were found to be low-risk. Compare that to the 40% of products for the general population and you can start to see the attack on Black women’s health.
Read MoreIt’s important that we know what makes up the products we us. Our lipstick doesn’t have to contain lead or heavy metals. We can have access to clean makeup products without sacrificing quality. Black women deserve to be healthy.
Read MoreThe possibility of chemical accumulation is overwhelming once we start to explore how many times we come in contact with harmful ingredients. Especially when you consider that women use an average of twenty products a day - leaving us exposed to 36+ chemicals on a consistent basis. It’s no surprise then, really, that 70-90% of chronic disease is due to environmental exposures.
Read MoreSo whenever I use a lotion that seemingly soaks into my skin almost instantly, I can’t help to stop and think ‘what exactly did I just give my body to drink?’.
It can be a startling thought process to open up to. The truth is our body does absorb the ingredients in the products we put on our skin, such as body lotion. That means those chemical ingredients are getting a first class ticket to our insides.
Read MoreBlack women are 2x more likely to face fertility issues and yet we are ½ as likely to seek out medical help and receive treatment.
When we do go seek treatment or medical advice we are often met with prejudice from physicians. This bias often manifests itself as a perceived need to shame us surrounding our sex lives and even going so far as blaming the average weight of Black women.
Read MoreThink of every product you use as a bigger part of your overall health. It’s difficult to consider that what you’re putting on your eyelid could be contributing to some serious health issues. Because none of us naturally assume that putting eyeshadow on your eyelid can travel through your body and ultimately contribute to the growth of a tumor on your ovaries.
Read MoreIf you’re anything like me you already know that as Black women we are consistently trying product after product in the search for the one that is going to 1) help us regrow our edges to their natural luster and 2) keep us in that luscious place once achieved. Trial and error can be exhausting, so let me be a shining light for you.
Read MoreLet’s start by talking about why it’s important for you to be properly moisturizing your face. It has been indicated, by some research, that Black skin does lose moisture a bit faster.
But properly hydrated skin helps to reduce skin problems in several ways. One, the skin on our face sheds at a faster rate and needs hydration to repair. Two, it helps to maintain your skin’s overall balance by encouraging elasticity and giving you more youthful looking skin. Third, properly moisturized skin keeps flare ups at bay - because dry skin can cause buildup and clogging of pores.
Read MoreNow, what is it with fibroids and Black women?
Did you know that Black women are 2-3x more likely to suffer from fibroids?
They start to show up at younger ages (when compared to our counterparts) and they are often more severe.
Read MoreThe Safe Cosmetics Act that recently passed in California is what hopefully is the start of a landfall of change across the country.
In this bill there are 24 toxic chemicals that are outlined & have known linkages to cancer, hormone disruption and reproductive harm.
Read MoreWhat in the world is maskne and why must it stop us from being great?
What happens when you are wearing a mask is basically a little inferno of moisture. The result is often a few acne flare ups.
This type of acne is called acne mechanica and is caused due to friction and irritation from pressure on the skin. Makes sense, right?
Read MoreThe biggest thing I hear when it comes to switching to safer in the beauty and personal care products space is - How can I make this as simple as possible? I mean, if the FDA isn’t regulating our products, then how is the everyday person supposed to really know how to dissect labels and an ingredient list??! The second question I hear the most is - What does clean beauty even mean?
Read MorePregnancy can be such an exciting and stressful 10 months (because let’s be honest, the whole “9 month” pregnancy thing is a lie).
We all know how important nutrition is to the health and development of the baby. That’s why it’s so widely known that pregnant mothers should avoid things like lunch meat, sushi, soft cheeses, etc.
But where in the “get ready for baby” and maternal nutrition handbooks does it list out what we should be avoiding in our skincare products?
Read MoreI’ve said before that it has been documented that Black women have higher levels of chemicals from cosmetics in our systems. Those higher levels are largely pointing at parabens & phthalates.
Both of these chemicals are known endocrine disruptors. Our endocrine system is the same thing as our hormonal system. Our endocrine system includes our thyroid, adrenals, ovaries, pancreas, hypothalamus and pituitary glands.
Here’s the thing. Cortisol is a hormone that is made in the adrenal glands. It is made during periods of stress (or perceived stress).
Read MoreWhen it comes to Black women, not only do we use more products, but the ones we use are more harmful. An example of that is shown by a study the Silver Spring Institute conducted. They tested hair products that are made specifically for Black women. Of those products tested they found that 72% of them contained methyl-parabens
Read MoreThis isn’t a small issue. In 2007 61% of the lipsticks tested and on the market were found to contain lead. In 2010 all of the lipsticks tested by the FDA were shown to have lead. In 2013 The University of California tested a batch of lip gloss and found heavy metals in all of them.
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