Cosmically Charged Beauty: Introduction to Melanin Skincare

Cosmically Charged Beauty was created by Women.Weed.WiFi and Avenue South Naturals to provide luxury CBD body products for melanated bodies. Made in small batches in the PNW, we create high-quality products from natural, locally-sourced ingredients designed with melanated bodies in mind. 

What is Melanin?

Melanin is a skin pigment that determines how dark or light a person’s hair, skin, and eyes are. Though everyone has the same amount of melanocytes (the cells that form melanin) not all melanocytes contain the same amount of melanin. The more melanin present, the darker its expression.

When you are exposed to a lot of sun your body produces more melanin, and it actually helps protect you from some of the harmful UV rays of the sun. Naturally, people from sunny places, particularly near the equator, have more melanin than those from colder, darker places. 

For those of us part of the African Diaspora along with non-Black folk that have left their sunny countries of origin for the West, connecting to our melanin and honoring it is something that should be emphasized in our skincare. 

Vitamin D

“Mr. Sun, you really are a vital dude, aren’t you?” - Greentea Peng

If we are living in places that get particularly dark (looking at you PNW) then it is super important to include Vitamin D supplements into our diets and routines. People with a lot of melanin tend not to produce as much Vitamin D as people with less melanin. This is due to the fact that our bodies expect our dark skin to absorb the nutrient from the sun while those with lighter skin produce more Vitamin D to compensate for expected relative lack of sun. 

Sun is a critical part of melanin skincare and overall wellness. In addition to providing vital nutrients, enhancement of our natural color, and warmth, the sun is a key spiritual and elemental connector to our ancestry and historic cultures. 

Allowing the sun to kiss your bare skin, including breasts and genitals, is spiritually reviving and nourishing. Just 15 minutes per day can boost Vitamin D levels and turn your mood around.

Ingredients

It is super important to be mindful of the ingredients in the skincare products that you use and only use products that enhance and work with your skin rather than against it. Products that include geranic or gallic acids can have depigmenting effects and are even included in skin whitening products. 

Ingredients that work best with melanin unsurprisingly come from tropical regions ie our homelands! Ingredients such as coconut and palm oils, mango, and avocado byproducts unite people from different regions of the world where these grow, and have been traditionally incorporated into beauty regimens. 

Check out more about how terpenes and ingredients, including scent, have sociocultural implications in our article in Terpenes & Testing Magazine (pages 14-17)!

We are so excited to continue to provide education, and now products, to enhance your melanin, skincare, and wellness with Cosmically Charged Beauty!

~ Kenya Ku$h~