There is the misconception that darker skin is tougher than white skin when actually the opposite is true.
Black people and adoptive parents of black kids know how delicate black skin can be. Not only it is drier, so you need to keep it moisturized to prevent it to look ashy, but it also can scar very easily and it’s prone to hyper-pigmentation.
Both of my children have very delicate skin that needs daily care to look healthy. Sometimes I can’t keep it as nice as I would like, specially because they are still children and they do things that usually are not very skin friendly…
I put lotion every day all over their body; I prefer to use good products that are not too expensive and are hypoallergenic.
For regular moisturizing I alternate between Cetaphil and Aveeno Baby Lotion, they are good and you can buy them in big bottles at Costco for a reasonable price. Sometimes I also use lotion with Vitamin E and Aloe.
Feromsa has a very dark skin that almost always looks ashy not matter what you do, and now in summer he plays a lot outside with water and sand… well, you can imagine how it looks by the end of the day. But it’s OK, he is a kid and I don’t want to prohibit him from messing around just because of how his skin looks.
Sometimes I worry a little since his skin scars really easily and well… he is a boy, so he’s not really careful and scratches his body all the time.
He has some old scars that I don’t think will ever fade, but I’m trying to prevent him from getting knew ones.
On the other side, the advantages of having black skin is that it usually ages much better than white skin and that the extra melanin offers some extra protection from the sun.
It’s not that it can’t get burned, but it takes a lot more sun to damage it.
So, you may wonder if black people needs to use sunscreen…
Well, actually they do.
First there is the risk of burning and getting skin cancer. The risk is lower than in people with white skin, but it does exist. Second, since it’s usually drier, besides protection, sunscreen also offers extra moisture, specially under the sun rays and when playing in the water. And third, it protects the skin from hyper-pigmentation or dark spots, which are more common than sun burns in black people.
I’ve also learned that chemical sunscreens work better on black skin since they don’t leave any residue.
I personally think that well cared black skin is sooo beautiful, specially in the summer when it gets tanned and shiny.
Another thing you should take into account for when your children get older is cosmetology skin treatments. Any common treatment that usually won’t harm white skin can really damage black skin leaving scars or other problems, so beware of those.
BTW, Feromsa is recovering from scarlet fever, so his skin doesn’t look so good right now and Feven has a cold so her skin face is full of snot and pimples
Oh, kids!

AliciA