Black Skin and Sugar
In some circles you’ll hear sugar being referred to as the devil for the skin and as skincare professionals we can see why.
But we won’t jump on the bandwagon to castigate anything in its entirety (I mean, we also love a slice of cake!). Our job is to provide you with the intel and facts so you can make informed choices, especially if like us, you also have a sweet tooth.
What sugar does to Black skin
Excess sugar massively contributes to premature ageing of the skin through the action of glycation. This is when sugar attaches itself to collagen in the skin making it dry and brittle and prone to breakage. Collagen is the protein that acts as a scaffolding for the skin, providing a supportive structure, keeping it plump and bouncy. Black skin is blessed with abundant collagen stores that is tighter and more densely packed together.
Without collagen, the skin starts to sag and droop. The pores also become more noticeable as the stretch when collagen declines. The visible effect of glycation is deeply etched lines and wrinkles but it is a slow process storing up over a long time, but when it starts to show, whoosh! it shows up all at once and the skin looks dramatically aged.
Sugar is also inflammatory and can contribute to the weakening of the all important skin barrier. In turn skin conditions like acne and eczema can be worsened. When it comes to acne in particular, sugar influences the body’s production of testosterone eventually leading to increased oil on the skin (also making the pores larger and visible). Bacteria and sticky oil on the surface of the skin are the breeding ground for spots and breakouts.
Sugar can also slowly dehydrate the skin making it dull and lacklustre. Black skin is already prone to dryness and dehydration because of lower ceramides levels, so excess sugar will compound a poor appearance of the skin making concerns like dark eye circles, discolouration and hyperpigmentation even more visible.
Finally, from a general health view, excess sugar can lead to serious conditions like diabetes developing over time. This is a debilitating diseases with long term health implications and people of Black heritage have a much higher risk of developing it. Diabetes can affect blood circulation and also slow down the skin’s ability to heal from trauma and damage.
Combating the effects of sugar
We have to remember that sugar appears in many forms in our everyday diet, so your skin is always exposed to sugar to some degree. It’s excess sugar you have to be extra mindful off.
Cutting back on adding sugar to your meals and drinks is a good place to start watching your sugar intake. Adults should have no more than 30g of free sugars a day, roughly equivalent to seven sugar cubes and this includes sugar already present in food! So look out for food high in glucose like white bread, white rice and crisps.
Increase antioxidant rich food like leafy green vegetables, berries, nuts and even dark chocolate to help combat glycation. You can also include an antioxidant serum with Vitamin C in your topical regimen to support the skin and help build collagen.
If you remember nothing at all, remember this - sugar damages collagen from the inside out, UV rays damage collagen from the outside in.
Help your skin build collagen by also including retinoids into your regimen. Retinoids are renowned for helping stimulate collagen to help re-energise and plump the skin.
Wear sunscreen. UV is the biggest culprit when it comes to degrading collagen, so leaving it out will just help glycation foster harder and faster; there is no need to give it a helping hand.
