Black CAN Crack: Sun and Skin Tips for Brown Girls

July 4th, 2011 - By Christelyn Karazin

So, you think because God gifted you with mocha skin you don’t need sunscreen?  Ya’ll may clown how wrinkly our fair-skinned, Caucasian counterparts get on a beach sauteing themselves with baby oil and gambling against skin cancer, but black people may have much more to worry about under the sun–a study at Michigan University revealed that African-Americans are more likely to die from melanoma than whites, and 63% of us don’t think we need sun protection at all.  Now you know that’s a hot mess.  Newsflash: Sunscreens are not just for white people!

Aside from health reasons, sun damage CAN make you look old.  “Darker skinned patients may not wrinkle as much as lighter skin tones, but uneven pigmentation and loss of radiance/glow in skin is very common as they age,” says David H. McDaniel, M.D., FAAD, director of the Institute of Anti-aging Research.

Here’s a few suggestions on how to enjoy the sun without drying out like a Sunsweet raisin:

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  • Pingback: For Brown Girls » Brown Skin and Sunscreen

  • pfft…

    Uh…huh. Okay.

  • Jaz

    I wear sunscreen mostly because I hate the unevenness of my skin without it. If you have hyperpigmentation issues on your face, wearing a a face moisturizer with a high spf (like Ambi) does the trick in about a month.

    HOWEVER this melanoma fact is extremely misleading and almost plain incorrect.
    "African-Americans are more likely to die from melanoma than whites"

    Black people are much less likely to develop and die of melanoma than white people. Melanoma death rates (# melanoma deaths per # of people of that race) are highest among White people by several fold. http://www.cdc.gov/cancer/skin/statistics/race.ht…

    But among the very few Black people that do develop melanoma they have higher death rates than their White counterparts (# of melanoma deaths/# of people of that race with melanoma)…2 very different statistics. This is probably because 1) its caught later (doctors aren't usually checking Black people for skin cancer) and 2) the unexplainable "minority in america" factor that accounts for poorer health outcomes across the board.

  • Darkesthourglass

    I’ve always worn sunscreen at least on my face and neck. I need to apply it to my body as well though. Yeah, black CAN crack especially if you don’t take care of it.
    Not all white people age badly, just the ones that smoke and tan a lot. Some whites rarely or never tan at all and they look radiant. I still love my mocha skin and wouldn’t trade it for the world.

  • the black guy

    yea black people need sunscreenn in the western world because of all the garbage you eat..hahaha
    what is next, plants needs sunscreen too? hahahaha
    yall fools would buy into anything

    • NEWHAIR 5000

      no,no i'm pretty sure your the fool in this situation.ever since i was 5 my mom would tell me to put on sun screen,it was for my own protection and it's what i needed.we all do,if you have a hard time believing that,then go to your doctor,look up some information.but don't by into the lie that just because your black you don't need sunscreen.even though blacks make up 2% of the melanoma patients doesn't mean it can't happen to you.and plus the survival rate is only 77% for us.with that being said you should take caution because it won't be funny when your dumb behind BECOMES part of that percent.who's going to be laughing then??.it won't be you that's for sure.

  • NEWHAIR5000

    lol it cracks me up when i hear black people say,we don't need sun screen.EVERYBODY NEEDS IT!! no matter how dark or light you are,the sun and skin cancer can't tell the difference between black and white.i hope some people will read this article and get that through their heads.you have to protect yourself,no matter what and saying your skin will save you is a complete lie.

    • http://yahoo.com rose

      yeah and just like AIDs cant tell he difference between black and white skin.. but blacks are said by whites to have more STD"s and HIV and AIDs.. lies they tell… black dont crack.. look at the black people and look at your white people, they look old as h3ll.. thats what the sayin means.. of course you should put on sunscreen when in the sun.. what idiot doesnt know that? But our skin doesnt age like white folks.. after 30 they age 10 years .. you can take a 50 year old black woman she looks 30, but a 50 year old white woman looks 70.. they need to stay out of the sun period.. trying to tan .. pulease.. embrace your own God givn white skin! why dont you?

      • NEWHAIR 5000

        okay i'm not white if that's what you're thinking.and plenty of those "idiots that don't know that" are black.that's the problem with some black people ,they say that their skin can save them and truth be told other just don't know.but that's why you have to educate your self.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001993405675 Angela McCullough

    Skin is skin no matter the shade. It needs protection.

  • The Ninja Kitty

    Yes yes i have my sunscreen.

  • Nikki

    You're saying what my sister has always preached. She's always been an advocate about Blacks and sunscreen. She's also a little bit of a hypochondriac lol nonetheless her heart is in the right place. I always believed that we had very little or no chance of being affected by the sun, but we can't continue to ignore the fact that we're at risk as well.