The Brown Skin Agenda: Vitality CEO calls for better education, R&D and NPD tailored to skin of color

06 Sep 2021 --- “The changes in the skincare industry need to be bigger than models with skin of color on a brand brochure,” Marya Khalil-Otto, CEO of Vitality Institute, tells PersonalCareInsights. She expands on the need for more R&D targeting skin of color, better skincare education and personalized products.

“I expect beauty brands and service providers to help me address my hair, skin and color cosmetic needs, and the professional beauty industry is responding to that demand. I expect to see brands include skin of color in their R&D, and in turn, create better-suited products for all skin tones.”

The Brown Skin Agenda
Despite over 40 percent of the US population being of color, less than 10 percent of dermatologists and plastic surgeons are Black or Hispanic, according to the 2020 US Census.

Taking this into account, the Vitality Institute is leading an initiative tagged “The Brown Skin Agenda” to tackle the under-representation of darker skin shades in the skincare industry.

The initiative will raise awareness and education about how to treat skin of color and the importance of bringing this conversation to the forefront of industry.The Brown Skin Agenda will bring awareness to the issues BIPOC face in the skincare industry.

“Through the Brown Skin Agenda and my skincare company, we will promote the advancement of treatment protocols and skincare solutions for skin of color patients, so that every practitioner feels confident in safely treating skin of color,” Khalil-Otto.

Leading the conversation
Vitality sees the Brown Skin Agenda as an opportunity to inform and lead key conversations as they relate to the treatment of darker skin types through our website, educational workshops, virtual content series and social media activations.”

“First, we must raise awareness on the issue and get educated. The second step is to make it a priority. Continually understanding the unique needs of skin of color is an ongoing process,” notes Khalil-Otto.

“We need a much broader range of professional education and must incorporate Black, Indigenous and People Of Color (BIPOC) into all product testing and training,” she adds.

VI Peel
The Vitality Institute has created the VI Peel, which helps treat skin concerns such as aging skin, active acne, acne scarring, melasma, sun damage and keratosis pilaris.

The Vitality Institute has extensively researched skin concerns of BIPOC. There will also be a collaboration with a recognized group of BIPOC physicians specializing in skincare for persons with melanin-rich skin.

The advisory panel comprises eight dermatologists and plastic surgeons who have been selected to partner with Vitality Institute, with a shared goal to promote the advancement of treatment protocols and skincare solutions for BIPOC patients.Skincare brands need to “include skin of color in their R&D” to create solutions that are better suited for all skin types and shades.

“Our mission is to provide safe and effective guidance from a panel of physicians so that all skincare professionals can confidently treat skin of color, and consumers can learn more about their skin,” adds Khalil-Otto.

The experts will serve as a valuable resource for practitioners and consumers in an industry that lacks Black and Brown representation in both education and practice.

An underserved demographic
All skincare products are not formulated with skin of color in mind; some do not even include skin of color in their testing phases, notes Khalil-Otto.

“Some consumers say that they have been turned away for treatment because the practice they went to had no safe options for them.”

“BIPOC consumers are telling brands, ‘I want solutions.’ Good enough isn’t enough anymore. Speaking as a person of color myself, I no longer accept that this is the best my hair can be or the best that my foundation can match.”

Tailored solutions needed
When you are doing more intensive skincare treatments, there are things that you need to be more careful about that you do not have to necessarily worry about if you are treating lighter skin tones, notes Khalil-Otto.

“Inflammation can cause damage to skin of color that doesn’t tend to happen in lighter skin. Additionally, when skin of color gets burned, it gets a brown spot. When skin of color has acne, it can result in post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.”

“Keloids are also an issue that disproportionately occurs in skin of color, especially Black skin. Sometimes if their skin scars or they have a surgical procedure where they have an incision, a keloid can form, which is a raised, darker scar that is often difficult to predict and treat,” she concludes.

Responding to the need for better solutions in this arena, BASF’s Care Creations created a personal care evaluation salon in Lagos, Nigeria. It will help make NPD tailored to the specific skin and hair needs of consumers in the sub-Saharan African market.

By Nicole Kerr