Over the past few years, folks have become more aware of the underrepresentation of black and brown people in certain roles and spaces. From cosmetics, to fashion, and every executive leadership team, representation absolutely matters -as we saw with the recent Gorilla Glue saga with a heartwarming ending. Beauty shops have been significant in the black community across the diaspora, as they have often served as more than just places to get our hair done. Sometimes it feels like community therapy sessions as clients often open up about lives to their beauticians as they do their hair -especially for those long braids and locs.
Dr. Gina Charles is a family physician and beauty expert, as well as the “G” of Dr. G Makeup Artist, a subsidiary of Ade & Gina Studios. She also owns Serenity Aesthetics and Wellness, a medical spa that specializes in treating acne, ” hyperpigmentation, and aging skin. After all, skincare is essential to ensuring your “Black don’t crack. Sadly, the beauty industry only recently began creating products for darker skin tones. To ensure the long-term sustainability and resiliency of these companies, it would be wise to secure more Black women at the decision-making table as they would bring the necessary perspectives that are consistently lacking in most long-standing cosmetics companies.
Although representation in the beauty industry has improved in recent years, there is still much work to be done. According to “Minority Women, Media, and Body Image,” representation in the media affects everyone’s perceptions of themselves. This has been particularly detrimental to the Black community as Eurocentric standards dominated for years. Researchers found that “African-American women, in an attempt to alter their appearance to reach a goal they cannot attain [became]dissatisfied with their physical appearance.” Thankfully, the return-to-natural movement has changed the tides on this self misperception trend; after all, true beauty is beyond skin deep.