While we embrace the weather as it warms up, you might want to consider how your African American skin and your regimen for it needs a little embracing too. So, you might ask yourself: “How do I transition my body’s skin from winter into spring without sending it into shock?”

Spring means April showers (and baths). With the change in climate, make sure your shower or bath water is warm rather than hot to prevent dry skin or the worsening of a skin condition. Get out in 10 minutes or under. Cleanse with something moisturizing and gentle, rather than harsh, with a scent that revives you.

Moisturizing Honey & Coconut Oil Body Wash Recipe

Made with only 5 ingredients!

Gather :

1) ¼ cup raw honey

2) ¼ cup of coconut oil

3) ½ cup of Liquid Castile soap

4) 1 tsp Vitamin E

5) At least 25 drops of your preferred blend of essential oils

Method: Warm coconut oil for about 30 seconds. Add and stir in honey, vitamin E and essential oils. Add Castile soap slowly. Transfer to bottle (preferably with a squirt cap). Shake before use.

Springtime renewal of bath tools is due! Celebrated dermatologist Dr. Brooke Jackson cautions on BlackDoctor.org: “Moist, wet loofahs and bath sponges can harbor bacteria on the surface and in all those small holes. Over repeated use will introduce this to your skin potentially causing infection (folliculitis) to your skin so make sure to clean and dry them or replace them every month.”

Unblocking pores and sloughing away dead skin cells with exfoliation, is key. After shedding that heavy clothing, this is the best time to fully exfoliate your body. For us women of color, ashiness is something we are also happy to shed. Some of the other benefits of exfoliating are: reduction of sun damage and acne, skin tone being more even and the fading of old scars. Those containing alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) are effective in healing sun-damaged/ hyper-pigmented skin.

With more activities moving from indoors to outside, don’t forget your hard-working feet! The skin on your feet is thicker than the rest of your body and can be hard to keep hydrated. In order to lock in moisture, it’s important to keep your feet exfoliated by removing the dead skin cells.

Hyperpigmentation or skin discoloration issues? This is one of the main challenges for Black skin. Since you will be baring more of it in summer, we know you don’t want to leave this until the last moment to address. Regular exfoliation will also get your skin warmer weather-ready since this process helps skin cells to shed faster, being more even and permitting old scars to fade.

However, do be gentle, using natural products and don’t over-exfoliate. Once every 7-10 days is adequate.

Lighten up your moisturizer and dial up the SPF in your sunscreen. Whatever the conditions, moisturizers are best applied to your skin right after your bath or shower, to lock in moisture. Opt for natural creams and lotions with non-comedogenic ingredients which soothe like chamomile, oatmeal and aloe. Moisturizing with body butters boosts skin’s natural sebaceous moisture and helps glands to repair dry skin.

Sunscreen protects our largest organ from the sun’s damaging UV rays. Those naturally formulated to answer the needs of African American skin, like Nyraju’s Daytime Solar Defense, are even better.

Keep drinking up your water to keep hydrated. Water offers a mini detox for your skin as well as your body. It can help to plump up your skin giving it a nice glow.

Springtime means renewal for everything, including your body care regimen.

As always …

Dedicated To Your Beauty,

Juliette Samuel

Esthetician/Author/Publisher

Nyraju Skin Care