5 min read
It’s Deeper Than Skin™
It’s Deeper Than Skin™ is a compilation of interviews featuring diverse multicultural individuals each carrying unique aspirations and desires yet bound by a common passion to create a more joyful, diverse and inclusive space for us all. They inspire, empower and help transform the way we think and feel about beauty, culture, ancient traditions, diversity, mental health, societal standards and more. Through these multifaceted lenses, we learn to celebrate our uniqueness and are reminded once again that our beauty is deeper than skin.
Being male and a part of the BIPOC community, Rashawn (@glowskinguy) defies the stereotypical face we might often expect to see in the skincare community. His interest in skincare stemmed from a battle with acne during high school, yet it was not until college (and the free time during the pandemic) in which he fully ventured into the skincare community. We spoke to Rashawn as he shares more about his thoughts on separate skincare for men and people of colour, his sunscreen recommendations and transparency in skincare brands.
Tell us a little bit about yourself?
Rashawn: Hey! I’m Rashawn and I’m an Instagram skincare content creator from Florida. I have been creating content on Instagram as “GlowSkinGuy” for about a year and a half now.
What inspired you to join the online skincare community?
Rashawn: I’ve been a passive viewer of the skincare community on Instagram for many years and I feel like I had plans to join in for a while. I guess maybe the extra time I had at the start of the pandemic, and the need for a creative outlet, is what pushed me to finally start creating content myself.
Tell us about your skin journey and how would you describe your current state of skin?
Rashawn: My skin journey is full of many ups and downs with acne that started becoming my main concern in high school. I’d say I started seriously getting into skincare in college, when I had a job and could afford products. That is when I became obsessed with researching ingredients and testing products to see what worked for my skin. I started seeing an esthetician for a while and professional treatments helped to combat a lot of the cystic acne I had at the time. These days, I feel like I really know how to control my acne and keep healthy skin. I still have the occasional breakout here and there, but my skin feels healthy. Now I am just dealing with hyperpigmentation as my main skincare concern.
What is your current skincare ritual?
Rashawn: I like to test a lot of products, but recently I have been keeping my routines pretty simple (for my standards). In the morning, I cleanse, use some sort of hydrating product, add in an antioxidant serum, follow with a light moisturizer, and then my sunscreen.
In the evenings, I always double cleanse. My skin loves it and massaging in an oil based cleanser is just a nice relaxing way to unwind for me at the end of the day. My second cleanser is usually one with some sort of active ingredient in it. Depending on how my skin is feeling or what I’m dealing with that day, I will use the corresponding treatment serum. Following that, I moisturize and usually top that with a facial oil. Finally, lip balm. Can’t forget the lip balm.
Do you have a favourite Sachi Skin product?
Rashawn: Well since my main skincare concern right now is treating hyperpigmentation, I gotta go with the Triphala Pigmentation Corrector. It gets the job done and it’s such a beautifully formulated product that’s easy to add into my routine.
If there is one skincare ritual you would love other men to adopt, what would it be?
Rashawn: I’d say it would be just having a ritual in general! It can do wonders all around, from skin health to mental health. I love having a few minutes at the beginning and end of my day to just focus on myself when I am doing skincare. That is a needed ritual for me and I would love more men to stop seeing something as simple as just “taking care of yourself” as a gendered concept.
We love your Sunday sunscreen reviews! What inspired this?
Rashawn: Thank you! I really value the sunscreen-related content I make on my page and I am glad it is helpful to people. When I was first getting into skincare around 4 years ago, it was so hard to find good sunscreen reviews that would work for me. I would buy countless sunscreens that ended up leaving a whitecast on me. Then I find one that doesn’t leave a whitecast, but maybe it still leaves residue in my coarse facial hair. Then I find one that doesn’t do that, but maybe it is too greasy and doesn’t work for my oily skin type. It was just a lot of guessing and checking because I could not find detailed reviews and demos from someone who looked like me at the time.
Once I started making content, I knew I wanted to test out sunscreens. It gave me a justifiable reason for something I was already doing, and hopefully the information can help other people find a sunscreen that works for them.
What are your top 3 sunscreen recommendations?
Rashawn: Right now I am loving the Eucerin Sun Gel-Cream Oil Control SPF50+, Paula’s Choice Skin Restoring Moisturizer SPF 50, and La Roche-Posay Anthelios Invisible Fluid SPF50+. Those are ones I always reach for when I am not testing something else.
As a man of colour do you feel there needs to be dedicated skincare for persons of colour or men of colour?
Rashawn: That is a tricky subject that I go back and forth on. “Need” is a strong word for it, but I do see the value in having dedicated skincare for people of color or men of color. It’s not that our skin is much different or needs different products, but it really all comes down to marketing. People gravitate towards things that relate to them, and if a plain matte black sleek bottle is going to entice a man to use a product, I don’t see anything crazy about that. Yeah realistically pretty much any product can be used by any person, but as consumers, we naturally like to feel catered to. Skincare dedicated to people of color or men of color can be a great way to get people into the beauty space and get them comfortable with using products. So I don’t see much wrong with it from that marketing perspective.
Has the pandemic changed the way you take care of your skin?
Rashawn: I feel like my skincare routines started getting longer once the pandemic started. That could be due to me having more time, or the fact that I started creating skincare content. But either way I did appreciate having more time in the morning to do an elongated routine and calmly focus on myself in the morning.
If you could make one change happen in the beauty industry what would it be?
Rashawn: I would love to see words like “universal” and “all skin tones” taken off marketing material for any sunscreen with Zinc Oxide or Titanium Dioxide. Mineral UV filters are not invisible and brands truly need to stop trying to convince people that they are. When I see that verbiage being used to promote a new mineral sunscreen, it makes it evident to me that the formula wasn’t tested on dark skin or dark skinned individuals were not in the development process. It is almost like a slap in the face to be pushing that claim. There isn’t a way to magically make Zinc Oxide transparent right now, and I think that is fine. I just want brands to stop claiming that it is and enticing people with dark skin to spend their money only to be disappointed.
We saw you recently graduated. What's next for you or what would you like to see yourself doing over the next coming years?
Rashawn: Yes I did just recently graduate! Now I am moving into the professional working world and trying to establish myself there. Hopefully in the next coming years I will be cemented in a job that I enjoy and find fulfilling.
Anything exciting coming up for you in the next few months?
Rashawn: The next few months for me will just be me adjusting to this new life post-college. I am very excited to be taking new steps in my young adult life personally and I am hoping that all works out. As far as content creation goes, I am still planning to keep up my regularly scheduled content and branching more into consistent video content if time allows me to.
Let's do some quick fire questions:
Coffee, Tea or Neither?
Rashawn: I feel like I gravitate more towards coffee, but I really haven’t had a reason to drink it recently. That was more of a “staying up too late finishing assignments and needing energy to go to class” type of thing in college.
What gets you out of bed in the morning?
Rashawn: These days, work haha. But really it is just any productivity, whether that is work, creating content, or just grocery shopping. I like being organized and having items planned for my day. Or else I will literally do nothing the whole day.
What are you currently watching on Netflix?
Rashawn: I just started watching Selling Sunsets. I am all for some good reality TV and I could binge watch that for hours!
What is on your current playlist?
Rashawn: I got really into Kpop during this past year and that is all I have been listening to. Currently I have been listening to a lot of Stray Kids’ newest album, “NOEASY”.
Finish the sentence. "My skin is lit when I .....
Rashawn: Get enough sleep (which is a rarity for me haha)
