Black Don’t Crack

“Black don’t crack.”

– Black people everywhere

My mother turned 65 the day before I turned 40. Both of my parents look great for their ages as official senior citizens. The phrase “black don’t crack” has floated around the black community for decades, but is it true? Science says, “yes!”

Let’s talk about melanin! Melanin is a natural sticky pigment your skin makes, and eumelanin is the type of melanin that makes our skin darker. The more eumelanin you have in your skin, the darker your skin will be. Melanin is like built-in sunscreen. It protects us from UV rays.

Now, it’s not just melanin that makes us age well. It’s also the type of collagen our skin produces. (not the same as what people inject into their face) It has denser and more numerous fibers that don’t break down as quickly and make our skin less prone to sun damage.

On top of that, we typically have a higher oil content , which acts as a natural skin hydration system. And… the outer layers of our skin have more fat content that sits on top of our facial bones that tend to maintain their support for longer. That means less wrinkles.

But before you go thinking it’s all good, black skin is more prone to discoloration, dark spots, and pigmentation like melasma from sun exposure and hormonal effects, as well as keloids.

However, it think it might be safe to say that it is a little harder to crack that black.

Listen to the full episode for more details…

black culture (2) black health (2) black history (2) black voices (2) melanin (1) soul food (2)