Love The Skin You’re In

This year one of the things that I have focused on improving for my own satisfaction is the health of my skin. Not just the skin routines I recently blogged about, but the skin on my entire body. I make it a point to put on lotion when I get out of the shower each day if I am not running obnoxiously late (still working on that). I make sure to get my daily dose of natural Vitamin D from the sun. I have started wearing sunscreen on my face each day, even if I don’t plan on spending much time outside. I make sure that my scalp is happy and healthy. I have even invested in both a morning and a night skincare routine for my face to clear up breakouts I was experiencing.

That is a lot of investment, wouldn’t you agree? So when I came across this “Black Mixed With Black” t-shirt on Amazon, I chuckled. Not only because it was a clever phrase, but because I knew exactly what it meant. Darker hues of brown skin are often not considered beautiful. If your hair has a looser curl pattern you’re often asked what you are “mixed with”. The Brown Paper Bag Test isn’t some made-up myth, it was actually used as a standard of beauty. And since Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1942 being Black in America has been met with racism, inequality and pure hate.

I was having a conversation with a friend earlier this week and I was telling him that it randomly dawned on me that for the most part, I have always loved the skin I’m in. For me its not just some cliché saying. I don’t avoid the sun like the plague for fear that my melanin coated skin will darken. I don’t seek out hair products that advertise not to shrink my curls. The only time I have used a skin fading cream was in middle school and that was only for my rusty looking knees! Ha!

I don’t remember the topic of having self-love for my skin and kinky hair being a conversation growing up. I actually remember being elated when I reached the age that my parents thought it was OK for me to go to the hair salon and get a relaxer. I remember standing in the lunch line in elementary school and a White classmate told me not to let my hair touch hers because I put grease in it. I remember being made fun of in elementary school by the other Black students because I talked like a “White girl”. I remember telling my hairstylist in college that I wanted to grow my relaxer out and wear my hair curly. His response was that I didn’t have “that kind of hair”. I remember being asked what I put in my hair to “make it curly”. I remember a lot of things.

I also remember that I didn’t start wearing my hair natural for any reason in particular. I just woke up one day and wanted to. So I did. Let me tell you; back in my college days, I had the meanest brush out haircut with a temp fade on this side of the Mississippi!

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying that the words and actions of others don’t phase me. What I am saying is that through it all I am solid and there isn’t anything about the color of my skin or the texture of my hair that I want to change. I have repeatedly seen one particular meme on Instagram that made me smirk. It read, “I love being Black. Sh*t’ Kinda Dangerous but it’s dope!”. It’s one of those things that has both humor and sadness woven into it because it’s true. Nonetheless, I really do love it. Isn’t it funny how some things we have to work so hard to master and continually fail, yet some things come naturally?

So even though I live in a world that would love to convince me otherwise, I really do love the skin I’m in. And because I do I’m gonna keep moisturizing it, I’m gonna keep drinking water to help it glow, I’m gonna keep investing in my skincare routines and I’m gonna keep letting the sun perfect it. Black Mixed With Black is me. And it’s perfect.

How I Got The Look:
Face: The Lip Bar Skin Serum Foundation in 4:05
Face: The Lip Bar Minute Finish 4-In-1 Face Palette in Stuntin'
Brows: Anastasia Beverly Hills Dip Brow Pomade in Ebony
Lip: The Lip Bar Liquid Matte in Unimpressed
Mascara: Fenty Beauty Full Frontal in Cuz I'm Black
Eyeliner: Sephora Colorful 12HR Wear in Black Lace