Real talk, has the Diaspora messed up your U.K. beauty routine?
I’ve been out in the Caribbean sunshine all day. It started with a morning dip in the warm, salty ocean. I submerged myself from head to toe, not worrying about the way my coils will spring up as they meet the moisture. I darted back and forth from the sea to my sunlounger throughout the day taking decent swigs of frozen daiquiris to, you know, rehydrate. My diet right now consists of rich, spicy Jamaican food and my veins are literally pure overproof white rum. Yet, when I shower off the day and then sit on the edge of my bed in my AC’d room as I dry, I don’t need to moisturise immediately, and my coils look juicy and defined despite not having a lick of leave-in conditioner coating them. When I look in the mirror before bedtime my skin is clear and warmly tanned. I don’t even need face cream. Why can’t my beauty routine always be this simple back in the U.K.?
Generational habits
When my grandparents emigrated from Jamaica to Britain in the 50s as a part of the Windrush generation, they came for the opportunity to fill the labour shortages in the UK caused by the war. With the promise of a new life on a different island, I’m certain they didn’t think about anything that wasn’t directly to do with how much they thought they’d improve the lives of their kids and future grandchildren. They of course weren’t thinking about the British lifestyle’s potential crushing of the Black 'beauty' regimen. But it’s something that impacted the way they taught my mum to groom herself and therefore me and my sisters. It was the infrequent washing of our hair because the hard water made it dry, it was the basting of our bodies in cocoa butter because our skin was dry from the cold and our scalps with Blue Magic for the same reason. As kids, we weren't allowed step out of the house looking ashy. Yet, when we’d visit ‘back home’, we were free to run around with abandon once just a squeeze of SPF was rubbed in.
It wasn’t until I visited tropical countries as an adult that I realised what seemed like the simplest explanation. Black beauty routines just aren’t naturally set up for the U.K. So much of our routine fights against us because of the climate, weather conditions and water types. That’s before we even layer on the efforts we go to, whether consciously or subconsciously, to fit into Westernised beauty standards and culture.
When I checked in with other Black women around me, I felt so assured in my feelings.
The effortless glow
“My skin, hair, and body overall always change for the better, it's almost as if stepping onto the island is like dipping in the fountain of youth,” said Moniie, a life coach from London when speaking about visiting Barbados. “I love me some skincare, but I don't need it when I am away except SPF of course. I have no need to be as heavy with my routine or with make-up because my glow is different. It's like a soul restoration inside out.”
Dr Ewoma Ukeleghe, who I had bumped into after she had returned from Nigeria noted that her whole body felt less dry when back home. “I find that I need to use less heavy moisturising body products. I can just get away with a bit of glycerin and like a light moisturiser or even an essence and it does the job which is unheard of for me in London.”
Humidity and warmth can do wonders for our skin and hair in comparison with the brisk breeze and cold climates of the British Isles. A change that Naomi Lynton noticed after moving to the U.K. and visiting back home. “I would describe my beauty routine as effective minimalist, being born and raised in Barbados the focus was on having a simple routine that didn't involve too many products or steps as you can very quickly feel caked in product with our climate. So, whenever I travel home a good cleanser, moisturiser and SPF is all I need,” she notes. “The humidity gives my curls all the motivation they need to be extra strong-willed which I'm not mad at. I just know I'll need to use slightly heavier products, hope for the best and then just let my hair do whatever it wants anyway.”
The effect of the sun has a vast improvement on my skin when I spend time in the Caribbean. I feel brand new when I’ve had time in a clear blue climate, and definitely not because I’ve also normally got a Ting in one hand and a saltfish patty in the other. The sun is often demonised in beauty (wear your SPF, ya’ll) but for Black people, it’s highly necessary for vitamin D production, something that we are often deficient in when we live in naturally cloudy countries because we get less of it and when it arrives it takes longer to penetrate our skin thanks to our melanin. “Darker skin tones really do need the vitamin D that the sun provides. Again, something that is often lacking in the U.K.,” Dr Ewoma confirms. As long as we are being sun safe; shading ourselves during the height of the day, the sun can improve everything from our skin tone to our energy levels. Editor's note: Writing this in my grey flat during a cold U.K. July day was a terrible idea.
Although, much of our beauty routine thrives ‘back home’ it’s not all sunshine and rainbows when it comes to our skin and warmer climes because ultimately our skin needs balance says Dija Ayodele, aesthetician, and Founder of Black Skin Directory. “There is something to be said for very low humidity environments, which can be very drying on the skin and also a very high humidity environment, which can encourage the skin to produce more oil and lead to congestion and breakouts,” she says. So, if back home for you is a hot, arid country or a near-rainforest environment, chances are your skin might find these environments just as hard as the cold and changeable weather in the U.K.
Dija also notes that we have to remember that often when visiting back home we are still on holiday which induces a better mood where we’re taking life more slowly; this can have a really positive impact on our beauty routine. “All these things contribute to less inflammation of the skin,” she says. “Generally, when we're living our lives over in the UK, or America or wherever, it’s quite high pressured. Then, when we take a step back and go home to our countries [of origin], we generally tend to be in a much more relaxed mood we're also wearing less makeup which can sometimes contribute to why our skin is more inflamed here [in the U.K].”
I adore being back home, or anywhere that is alike Jamaica's climate. But despite, the awareness of how much simpler my beauty routine can be in the Caribbean, I’m happy with my U.K. regimen. Yes, it’s drawn out and I have to spray extra strength vitamin D under my tongue instead of absorbing it, you know, outside, but if anything, it kind of makes me proud of how good I feel about my hair, skin and body despite the U.K climate. often working against me. Well, that’s until I can afford to retire to the Bahamas or somewhere and then my GRWM will consist of just SPF and vibes.
You Might Also Like
