Skincare treatments to avoid if you have Black skin

We know it’s never a good idea to lead with the negative, but we’ve seen so many skin care disasters that on this occasion to avoid any confusion we wanted to be straight up crystal clear about what treatments to avoid if you have Black skin or a darker skin tone.

Keeping it real, any treatments or procedures such as chemical peels and lasers which are based on ‘controlled injury’, to encourage skin renewal can cause unwanted side-effects such as hyperpigmentation, scarring and burns on any skin colour. However, with adjustments, the vast majority of skincare treatments can be made safe and suitable for Black skin but there are some you should skip altogether. We repeat, skip altogether! There are many alternative options.

We also know that sometimes, it can feel that there’s a lot of talk around treatments Black skin should avoid, without being given any realistic alternatives. Not any more, read on to discover what treatments to avoid and what to go for instead.

AVOID: BBL (Broadband Light) Laser Therapy

BBL laser is often suggested as an effective way to treat various concerns such as pigmentation and uneven texture. BBL works by penetrating skin with light energy, encouraging collagen production and eliminating excess melanin, which causes pigmentation. In Black skin, BBL laser will try to target not only unwanted, excess melanin, but also your natural skin tone. This may lead to burning, scarring and further hyperpigmentation.

TRY: Nd: YAG (Neodymium-doped Yttrium Aluminium Garnet) Laser

The Nd: YAG Laser is the laser technology of choice for treatment on dark skin. The wavelength is much longer than other lasers, so the melanin is avoided. Nd: YAG lasers can be used to treat the same concerns as other lasers, such as pigmentation, uneven texture and scarring. It is also a great option for laser hair reduction meaning you can step away from the waxing and plucking (which can also cause hyperpigmentation). It is important to find a practitioner who is experienced with Black skin and keeping mind that they may treat you at a slower pace to prevent any unwanted effects.

AVOID: Ablative Lasers

Ablative lasers (sometimes known as CO2 and Fraxel lasers) are a treatment which not only improve uneven skin tone, texture and fine lines and wrinkles, they can also target skin laxity, tightening and lifting loose skin and improving facial contours. They work by removing the upper layer of the skin, but also heating the deeper layers of the skin. This combination treatment brightens the skin but also encourages collagen production, leaving skin firmer as well. Ablative lasers aren’t suitable for darker skin tones due to the heat they drive into the lower layers of the skin. This can fuel the production of excess melanin leading to hyperpigmentation.

TRY: Radio Frequency Microneedling

If you have concerns around loose skin, as well as uneven skin tone, hyperpigmentation, texture or fine lines and wrinkles, Radio Frequency Microneedling is a great option that is completely safe for darker skin tones. The combination of two technologies - microneedling to stimulate collagen and elastin and radio frequency to heat up and tighten underlying tissue to lift and firm. This treatment also helps smooth the skin texture, helps to fade scarring from acne and improves hyperpigmentation.

AVOID: Deep Chemical Peels

Chemical peels are an amazing for treating a huge range of concerns and there are many options to choose from. It may seem appealing to go for an intense, deep peel to get that quick fix. Deep chemical peels use active ingredients such as trichloroacetic acid (TCA) and phenol. These penetrate the skin deeply and create a much more intense ‘controlled injury’. On darker skin, this can cause unwanted effects such as scarring, hyperpigmentation, and a thick, waxy appearance, but may also cause an uneven loss of pigmentation, leaving light patches of skin, which are very challenging to resolve.

TRY: Superficial Chemical Peels

Fortunately, the huge number of chemical peels out there means there will be something suitable for you! Superficial peels target the upper layers of the skin and usually use exfoliating acids such as glycolic and lactic acid or Vitamin A, to smoothen and brighten skin, treat breakouts, reduce hyperpigmentation. The intensity can be built up over a course of treatments which will strengthen skin over time and allow you to build up to stronger treatments. Find a practitioner who is experienced in working with darker skin tones and be aware that you may be asked to prepare your skin for 4-6 weeks before your treatment.

AVOID: IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) Therapy

As well as brightening skin tone and targeting hyperpigmentation, IPL Therapy is commonly used as a hair removal technique. IPL works by targeting the hair follicle with light energy, creating heat, damaging the cells which cause hair to grow. This slows hair growth and over time may stop hair growing completely. On darker skin tones the light energy can’t identify the hair clearly as it’s dark hair against dark skin, meaning it will damage, causing scarring and hyperpigmentation and not reduce your hair growth effectively.

TRY: Electrolysis

Electrolysis is an electrical treatment which permanently removes hair (laser and IPL are only able to reduce hair growth, although in some cases this may be effectively permanent in the long term). During electrolysis your therapist will insert a very fine probe into the hair follicle applying a small amount of electric current, creating heat. This destroys the cells which cause the hairs to grow, stopping hair from regrowing. As it is very targeted, it is safe for dark skin tones and we would recommend using on small areas.. Electrolysis can also be used to treat certain growths such as warts and sun spots, and scars.