Skin care for African Americans can be somewhat of a challenge to keep healthy. For best results, skin care products tailored for African American skin should be used.

There are many ingredients that you should avoid if you have black skin. I will list these in this article. Why should you avoid these ingredients? Because some will contribute to hyper pigmentation while yet others may cause the reverse effect (de-pigmentation). You do not want this to happen to your skin as you could seriously damage it.

You should avoid these compounds:

1.      Chemical bleaching agents

2.      Products that are petroleum-based

3.      Sodium methyl paraben

The chemical compound, sodium methyl paraben, is found in most skin care products. This is actually a dangerous compound, as it has been linked to breast cancer formation; it is even banned in Europe! Using it may not only cause you cancer, but can cause de-pigmentation of your skin – giving it a blotched look.

You should also try and avoid any products with petroleum, as it can contribute to hyper pigmentation of the skin. What this means is that dark spots on the skin may form that don’t match the rest of the skin tone. These ingredients are often in black skin care products because they help treat oily skin (a problem people with black skin often suffer from). Ironically, petroleum-based products actually cause the oiliness in the first place.

Other products that should be avoided are ones that contain any sort of bleaching agent. Bleach is very harmful to your skin. If at all possible, do not use them.

There are some very good products that work wonders black skin. Make a point to use products that contain the following compounds:

-Wakame kelp

-Functional keratin

-Vitamin E

-CoQ10

-Pone Nut Grass

-Jojoba

Vitamin E is great for any type of skin, black or white. It can help to repair any hyper-pigmented skin spot damage. In addition, Vitamin E is an antioxidant and can help prevent skin cancer. If you have an uneven skin tone, consider using Vitamin E and Extra-pone nut grass as a remedy to treat this.

Black Skin Moisturizers

Now, African Skin care require specialized moisturizers. The reason is that black skin is often mildly to very oily. Using creams or lotions that have petroleum-based oil can exacerbate this problem. There are special moisturizers that contain natural agents that can work wonders on black skin, giving it healthy sheen in addition to preventing oiliness. Do not frequent departments stores for the moisturizers though – most of these are expensive and contain chemicals harmful to black skin. I suggest looking around on the internet for black skin moisturizers.

Why is African American skin oily? Because there are tiny glands in the skin called sebaceous glands that release a oily substance called sebum. African American skin tends to have more of these glands, hence very oil skin as a result. One way to treat this is with Jojoba as a key ingredient in skin care products for black skin. Jojoba will ensure black skin is moisturized without making it greasy and oily.

Black Skin Anti-Aging Compounds

These days, anti-aging products are the rage now. You can find anti-aging creams, pills – even vitamins. However, most of these products don’t work.

But that doesn’t mean some don’t work. A few anti-aging ingredients have been scientifically proven to help fight against aging. Functional Keratin is probably the most effective of all the anti-aging compounds. Wakame kelp extract is also very effective – it contains powerful antioxidants which fight against the free radicals that cause aging in the skin. CoQ10 and natural vitamin E help promote new skin grown and heal existing damage.

You hear a good deal of information these days about Antioxidants – and with good reasons. Antioxidants are sort of the “holy grail” of anti-aging technology. Scientists have found that free radical compounds (a certain type of protein) interfere with the cellular process, causing damage. This damage leads to cell ageing. However, antioxidants bind to free radicals and neutralize them – basically fighting against the ageing process. When looking for anti-aging skin care products, always make sure the product in question has lots of antioxidants in the formula. If the products doesn’t,  it WILL NOT do anything.

Having black skin can be a chore sometimes – especially when trying to keep your skin looking healthy. Black skin is more prone to sunburn and other sun-related maladies.  Black skin is often very oily, hence we need special black skin care products tailored to our skin. African American skin care is not impossible – it just takes more work and the use of special products.