The Right Skin TLC For WOC

It’s time to bust some longstanding myths about how women of color should care for their complexions. Turn the page for legit advice.

- Andrea Arterbery

THE FIRST TIME I noticed sunscreen, it was on someone else’s body.

Growing up in a tiny East Texas town where the unrelenting heat of summer was brutal (I’m talking 100-plus temperatures for days on end), hanging at the public pool was the best way to cool down. The second my mom dropped me off, I’d jump right into the water—usually off the high dive because I was a showoff like that.

One of my friends was a white girl whose mother slathered her in thick white cream before she’d let her swim. No matter how long we swam, the cream never seemed to budge. One day, out of curiosity, I asked her what the strange coating was.

“Sunblock,” she replied. “My mom says I’ll turn into a lobster without it.” I didn’t wear sunscreen—it was the first time I’d even heard of it! I wondered if I’d turn into a lobster too.