Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Dark Skin Equals Slower Aging But Pigmentation Biggest Concern





















Lucky you! Dark skin has many beauty advantages. And when it comes to wrinkles and sagging, you needn't worry for a number of years.

Why? Because women with dark skin have the most melanin and a relatively thick epidermis. So that means, pesky lines like crow's feet and laugh lines won't appear on your face that quickly, whereas a woman with fair or light skin, will notice premature wrinkling pop up in her younger years. Being blessed with extra melanin, is like having your own personal built-in sunblock.

"In general, the darker you are, the slower you age," New York City dermatologist Francesca Fuco tells InStyle magazine.

The beauty problems many dark-skinned women develop, have to do with pigmentation, dark undereye circles, and rough patches of skin.

So, how do you fight back? With early treatment---serums, creams, and yes, even daily sunscreen. But just because you have more melanin, doesn't mean the sun's rays won't affect you over time. We are all vulnerable.

"We dark-skinned women tend to lose elasticity as we age, because we often don't wear sunblock," says Jeanine Downie, a New Jersey dermatologist says to InStyle magazine.

The magazine article suggested the following beauty regimen to keep dark skin looking youthful and flawless:

1. Cleanser: Aveeno Positively Radiant Cleanser ($7, drugstores). This product is gentle on skin and contains soy, which evens out skin tone gently.

2. Eye Cream: Skin Medica TNS Illuminating Eye Cream ($80, at skinmedica.com). A bit pricey, but this eye cream is great at treating dark undereye circles with a high-tech formula that encourages collagen and cell repair. Jeanine Downie recommends this eye cream to many of her African-American patients.

3. Daily Sunscreen: Alyria Corrective Protection Sunscreen SPF30 ($40, at alyria-med.com). Another favorite of Jeanine Downie's. This sunscreen is full of anti-oxidants and completely disappears on dark-skin, after applying.

4. Treatment Lotion: Rx for Brown Skin Bright & Clear Lotion ($34, Sephora stores). A lightweight formula that is excellent at moisturizing skin and fighting acne, and at the same time, not inflaming skin. Made with salicylic acid.

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