While some of you might think this article isn’t for you, think again. You know someone who just might benefit from this information. Your skin is your face to the world and how you care for it determines just how well you represent.

We were all twenty at one time and thought we’d have no challenges with our skin. After all, we have melanin and we’ve been told more than once, “Black don’t crack”. Think Again! With the right skin care regimen, natural/organic ingredients and proper nutrition, your black won’t crack.

I was asked to write this article by one of my clients. She’s the mother of 2 and lives in South Florida. I’ve been privy to watching her go from college student, to a married woman and mother. One of my greatest moments was when so told me she was expecting.  Such Joy! As she transitions into the world of the 30 year old, she has concerns. Since she’s not alone, Let’s talk.

How to Keep The Beauty In Your Blackness from your 20’s to your 30’s … Skin that is!

The more simple you keep your skin care regimen, the better. Yet, caring for your skin doesn’t just depend on what product you use. Skin care actually begins in your colon. In your twenty’s you’re often coming out of what I call puberty years. In essence, you’ve just experienced some serious hormonal changes.Your body has been in a stage of transitioning for the last 5-6 years, not to mention that you’ve eaten everything under the sun.

Actually, it would have been better if that were true, however most of your food was from the drive through fast food restaurant serving up their version of a healthy or not so healthy meal, quick snack or a variety of chips labeled healthy. Your twenty something skin has caught the brunt of what you ate and inherited in your teens.

Dark spots, uneven skin tone and pimples are still finding a way into the mix. One thing that’s not often talked about is stress. Stress causes hormonal changes to your body and your skin and hair often show how it’s wrecked havoc in your life. Some people would ask, what does a 20 something year old have to stress about? “You should be having fun, traveling and experiencing life”, they’d say.

While this statement holds true, some of you don’t have the financial means to make this happen. You’re looking for a job that will pay “All” of the bills. When money is tight, certain things are skimped on and your skin care products and food are usually at the top of the list.

If you’ve been fortunate enough to fall in love, marry and start a family this brings another level of stress into your life. Your skin will show this as well.

First rule to Great Black Skin care in your 20’s … Keep it simple! Cleanse, tone and moisturize. Your moisturizer will change from season to season. You will choose to use a lighter weight one or use less of your existing one.You will exfoliate to remove dead skin cells once a week and use a hydrating masque once a week.

• You will eat more natural/organic foods on a daily basis, not just on Sunday when you visit your Mama’s house for dinner. Cut back on your sugar intake, it has a tendency to make you feel sluggish and drain you of energy, not to mention an over abundance of sugar will dehydrate your skin.

• Exercise at least 3 times a week. The more your sweat, the more toxins you can release from your body through your skin.

For Great Black Skin In your 30’s … Your natural black skin care regimen will remain the same. Cleanse, tone and moisturize. Exfoliation will step up to twice a week keeping your masque at once a week. Because your body is a universe unto itself that is constantly changing, so will your skin.

• Consistency is key. Don’t cleanse today and skip the next two days.

• There’s beauty in your blackness, so when you’re out and about in the sun, use a sunscreen and/or wear a wide brimmed hat.

• If you find that your skin is becoming a bit more dry than before, make sure your moisturizer is able to handle the dryness. Cocoa, Shea and Mango butters combined, often give you just the right amount of moisturizer to enhance the beauty of your skin, especially for your hands and body.

• Look for ways to minimize your stress level. There’s only so much time in a day and you can not get 150 things done in a day. If your list looks like this, you’ll need to cut way back in order to maintain your sanity.

While creating list is a great way to chip away at what needs to get done, having 5 to 6 things on your list at a time is a better approach. You can see the end and this will not bring added stress to complete them by end of day.

• The foods you eat become increasingly important in your 30’s. Food not only provides the sustenance you need, it nourishes and replenishes your skin and hair. As people of color, we’ve always eaten foods that are live and from the soil. This should be continued.

Look for local and sourced foods. Sourced food just means you know where it comes from. Y our farmers market or community garden are great places to start. Why is food just as i important as your topical product? You are what you eat. Your food choices feed your body. This means it goes to your blood stream, your organs, your cells, muscle, bones … and guess what? Your skin is what tells you when something is right and wrong with what you’ve eaten.

• Still eating flesh? Opt for meat from grass feed, non-hormone injected, non GMO feed animals. The hormones that are shot up into the animals, essentially becomes part of your molecular structure. Now you’ve got hormones you know nothing about that’s in the food you’re eating, blending with your hormones that are already giving you a hard time.

• The same rule applies to fish. Look for fresh water fish as often as possible, we’ve all heard the stories about farm raised fish and what it does to your body.

Whether you’re transitioning from your 20’s to your 30’s or your 50’s to your 60’s, nutrition will play just as an important role in the beauty of your skin as your topical products. The key with topical products … buy quality. Natural/Organic will provide better ingredients. While you might only be able to afford the $3.00 8 ounce jar of moisturizer, be careful of the synthetic fillers that could possibly damage your skin.

Climate as well as living conditions will have an impact on you, your skin and it’s condition, so be mindful. That’s it for this week.  If you like what you’ve read, by all means share it with your friends.  As always …

Dedicated To Your Beauty,

Juliette Samuel

Aesthetician/Author/Publisher

Nyraju Skin Care