Ep 66 Skincare: Looking Better And Feeling Better with Kalaura

 
Looking for ways to improve your skincare routine? In the latest episode of Thyme 4 Tea with Mikita. Me and my youngest daughter share our favorite beauty products and how they've helped us achieve better skin. f you're looking for tips on how to take better care of your skin, this episode is a must-listen!

-The difficulties of finding the right face wash and moisturizer
-How products can be too harsh and drying
-How finding the right products is about more than just what you eat or use on your face
-The importance of drinking plenty of water and eating a balanced diet
-How sunscreen can help with hyperpigmentation and acne
-The idea that alkaline water can help to balance out the body and skin

In recent years, however, the skin care industry has begun to recognize the needs of women of color and has started to create products specifically tailored to their skin type. These products range from face washes to moisturizers to toners and more.
In this episode, I get to sit down with my youngest daughter, Kalaura, to discuss skincare specifically for women of color and our experiences growing up. Growing up in a small town with limited access to skincare aimed at women of color, it is amazing to see how much the health and beauty industry has grown and changed. Listen in as we share our experiences and some of our favorite natural facial cleaners and moisturizers.

We discuss what products are available, what has worked well for us, and some of our issues with them.  The tea is hot!

SHOW NOTES:

00:02:59 Find the right skincare solution.
00:13:05 Protect skin with sunscreen.
00:21:10 Drink alkaline water for health.
00:23:26 Connect with Kalorox on TikTok.

Want more tea and learn more, then click here

Transcript

00:00 Time for Tea with Mikita is a podcast about redefining self-care.

00:12 It's about looking at every aspect of our life from music, career, family, relationships,

00:18 and everything in between.

00:20 It's about spilling tea on those conversations that are sometimes hard to have.

00:25 Well, we're not afraid to have those conversations right here.

00:30 Join me as we spill tea on every conversation you ever thought about, dreamed about, or

00:36 whispered about.

00:37 Hey, y'all, it's definitely time for some tea.

00:43 Welcome back.

00:44 It is definitely time for some tea.

00:46 Thank you so much for sharing your time, your space, and your amazing energy with me today.

00:51 So today, I am super excited, and I know I say that each and every time that I have an

00:55 amazing guest.

00:56 But this time is so different because I'm sitting down with one of my daughters, Kalaura,

01:03 and we're talking about not just skin care, but skin care for women of color and how that

01:11 transition has looked like since I was growing up as a kid and now seeing how it has grown

01:17 and evolved so much throughout time.

01:20 And even now, it's still kind of challenging finding the right skin care solutions.

01:25 We're going to dive in.

01:27 Go ahead and grab your cup of tea and get comfy because the tea is definitely hot.

01:34 All right.

01:36 So Kalor, skin care is something that has been, for me, a struggle.

01:42 I remember as a kid growing up, the only type of skin care we had was Noxzema, and that

01:48 was kind of Noxzema.

01:50 Noxzema.

01:51 Is that the thing that came in the blue thing?

01:56 Fuck it.

01:57 Wow.

01:58 Telling my age.

01:59 Yeah.

02:00 Yes.

02:01 Yeah.

02:02 It came in a blue thing, and back in the day, it used to be a cream that you put on your

02:09 face and you wash, and then they came out with alcohol pads, which was good, but it

02:13 burnt your face.

02:15 You could really feel your face burning and drying up.

02:19 The cream did that for me too.

02:21 I remember Talia had it, and I used to steal hers.

02:25 Steal some to wash my face.

02:30 Well if she's wondering what happened to it, she know now.

02:33 I can see all these videos.

02:37 I will say there wasn't a whole lot of options, though, and I don't think it was until I was

02:44 in my 20s that they came out with like Proactiv, and that was the first experience that I had,

02:53 though, with a skincare that talked about eating better to have better skin, not just

02:59 using this face wash, but eating better and combining the face wash and drinking water.

03:07 So that was my first introduction to how would I eat showed on my face.

03:12 I remember seeing the Proactiv commercials and wishing that I had it when reality I was

03:20 what like eight, nine, maybe even younger.

03:24 Well, I didn't even have that option back then.

03:28 I just wanted to, you know, be included, I guess.

03:33 What was your first, do you remember what your first face wash was that you ever tried?

03:40 I think it was the Clean and Clear.

03:44 Yeah, the Clean and Clear, the morning burst thing.

03:48 It had like these orange beads, and I found out that they were causing like micro tears,

03:55 apparently, in people's skin.

03:57 In people's skin, that's not funny, but apparently they cause micro tears, and they're really

04:04 bad for your skin barrier.

04:07 But that's what I was using every morning, and it would dry out my skin, and I didn't

04:13 use a moisturizer or anything.

04:17 I think I had the hardest part with finding a good moisturizer.

04:20 Like when I was able to finally find a face wash that worked, there wasn't really room

04:27 for like, okay, now I need a moisturizer to, you know, moisturize my face so I don't look

04:34 ashy afterwards.

04:35 But what I learned was really the products I was using was probably too harsh, though.

04:39 Was probably just drying me out really bad.

04:42 And of course, you know, you want to use a moisturizer so your face has that glowy, dewy

04:49 look to it, and healthy look to it, but sometimes we can use too much of a good thing.

04:56 And I struggle with still finding a face wash that I absolutely love that makes my face

05:05 feel clean.

05:06 I did find a natural soap bar with turmeric in it, the one that I have in the room.

05:14 That's the only thing that I've ever used that I love when it comes to face wash.

05:19 And that's, I don't even know if that's strictly, you know, you could use it for your whole

05:23 body, but that's like my favorite thing that actually makes my face feel clean.

05:29 I'm still, I'm in the same boat with you with the whole face wash and finding one that works.

05:36 I'm currently using CeraVe.

05:39 It's supposed to have, I can't think of the word, it's like narrow sun eyes or something

05:43 like that.

05:44 And it's supposed to help with acne and like cleaning up the skin and everything.

05:50 But my skin's still breaking out.

05:53 My skin's still breaking out probably from, I think it's from the water here.

05:58 There's a lot of factors that go into acne and everything and not a lot of people talk

06:03 about that.

06:04 It's not just, you know, what you eat or what you use on your face.

06:07 It could be, you know, hormones or the environment and they stress me out here.

06:13 So I think that's why my face is breaking out now.

06:16 For y'all that don't know, Kalora is away at college.

06:21 So we are just Zooming right now having this conversation while she is at school.

06:28 I just thought it was a great conversation because as women of color, we have, I think

06:33 a hard time finding moisturizers.

06:35 I recently found a really good moisturizer, two really good products.

06:40 Well I will say four really good products for me right now.

06:44 So in the winter I use this moisturizer called Butta Skin and it's by Dorian Renaud.

06:54 I hope I'm not messing that up.

06:56 But in the winter it makes my face look so glowy and dewy.

07:02 I absolutely love it.

07:03 I don't like it too much in the summertime because I sweat and my skin is more oily I

07:08 feel during the summer.

07:10 So that kind of clogs up my pores.

07:13 But I love the Keys, the Alicia Keys.

07:16 Her moisturizer is really light and you can wear in the winter and spring for me anyway.

07:23 And then I have Murad, it's a toner.

07:27 It's I love it.

07:28 That's like my favorite to clarify.

07:31 It's great.

07:32 And then I use Eucerin for all over body because as much as I used to love the Bath and Body

07:38 Works, I think the older I get the more I don't care about the smell.

07:42 I just want something that makes, actually hydrates my skin.

07:45 And the Eucerin, I put it on and my skin start glowing.

07:52 And all those ashy spots go away.

07:55 And recently I've discovered a makeup called Makeup by Mario and Kallur.

08:00 I know you haven't tried it yet, but girl.

08:03 I've been seeing a lot of TikToks about it.

08:09 It's everything they say it is.

08:11 It's good.

08:12 Like it's, I put it like literally it makes my face look like, I don't know.

08:19 I don't know how to do it, but it's not heavy.

08:21 It's really light.

08:23 And as you know, finding a makeup color for your pigmentation for women of color is hard

08:30 to match it just right.

08:32 So I got lucky.

08:34 And it was the last one that they had in Sephora at the local Sephora here.

08:39 Yeah.

08:40 That's how you know it's good.

08:43 Yeah.

08:45 So what are four or if not four, what are your favorite products right now that you're

08:52 using that you feel you would recommend to someone else?

08:57 Vitamin E oil.

09:00 I've been using that mainly at night.

09:03 You know, I don't know if you heard the term slugging, but it's basically when you put

09:08 like a petroleum based moisturizer on at night and then you put like something heavy.

09:15 It doesn't have to be petroleum based, but that's mainly why they say slugging.

09:20 But something heavy to kind of lock into moisture.

09:24 And then when you wake up, your skin is smooth and it's soft.

09:27 And even though like it may look like it has texture when you touch it, you don't feel

09:31 like the texture and everything.

09:34 So vitamin E oil, I like my CeraVe Acne Wash thing.

09:41 I think that really helps me out a lot.

09:44 Not with like small bumps, but mainly like, you know, big breakouts and everything and

09:50 then acne scars and then pimple patches when I get like bad pimples and everything, just

09:57 pop a one on.

09:59 And then if you have a mask on or something and no one can see it, but they also make

10:03 pimple patches that have like, you know, stars or something.

10:07 It looked like a sticker and it's cute.

10:10 I don't have a fourth product.

10:12 I do like the, right now I do like the, what is it?

10:17 I think it's like a watermelon thing that you gave me.

10:21 You got it for your birthday Sephora, like a little birthday gift.

10:26 Yes.

10:27 I do not know what it is.

10:30 I don't know what it was though, but I chose it because I knew you would probably like

10:35 it.

10:36 I do.

10:37 I use the toner and it makes my skin very bright.

10:41 I use it like under makeup and stuff.

10:45 Okay.

10:46 So when it comes to, you were talking about earlier about how sometimes your skin, what

10:54 you eat, it could be hormonal or a lot of different factors that play into this role

10:59 that comes when it comes to our skin.

11:01 What has the best advice or best information you've learned about eating or different factors

11:09 that affect your skin?

11:14 The best advice, you know, everybody say, well, drink water, drink water, you know,

11:19 but you know, I guess when I heard it all the time, I was like, well, I am drinking

11:23 water and you know, X, Y and Z.

11:27 You drink all the water.

11:30 Even though the, oh, just drink more water statement seems dismissive to people who,

11:37 you know, you have, you know, hormonal acne or you have maybe like environmental issues

11:46 or something like that.

11:48 It's another thing that you can check off the list.

11:50 You know, it's not because you're not drinking water or just that and a third.

11:54 So then you can go into, well, what foods are you eating?

11:58 You know, and I love sweets.

12:02 I eat a lot of sweets and I have, you already know that I have a sweet tooth and I guess

12:11 it's one thing that I had to, you know, slow down on.

12:14 And it's not that I can't have sweets at all.

12:17 It's just that I don't need to eat a lot of it in every single day.

12:23 So I think that's one thing that helped with like acne and everything is just slowing down

12:29 on greasy foods and sweets and stuff like that.

12:34 So found in balance have been like one of the best things that you've learned about

12:39 your skin health.

12:41 Definitely.

12:42 Well, this has been a very insightful conversation.

12:46 Anything else you want to add when it comes to skincare?

12:48 I'm probably not going to like this, but sunscreen.

12:53 Okay.

12:54 Let's talk about it.

12:56 Let's talk about sunscreen.

12:59 I know a lot of people are very dismissive when it comes to, you know, using sunscreen.

13:05 And I will say, I don't use sunscreen every day, but I probably should.

13:09 You know, some people are like, I mean, you need sunscreen every day.

13:12 If I'm going to be indoors all day, if I'm not going outside, I'm not going to even open

13:18 the blinds.

13:19 There's no point.

13:20 And sometimes even when I do step out, I don't have a sunscreen right now.

13:26 I just wash my face, put on moisturizer and then go about my day sometimes.

13:31 But I feel like sunscreen does help when you use a lot of acne products like benzoyl peroxide

13:36 and everything, which is known to lighten the skin and everything.

13:41 And you can burn very, not burn very easily, but being in the sun makes your skin very

13:48 sensitive because of, you know, benzoyl peroxide and other acne products.

13:52 So using sunscreen is very helpful with that because you protect your skin from possibly,

14:01 you know, feeling that type of, you know, irritation and everything.

14:08 So ice in your skin can help with inflammation.

14:12 I noticed that whenever I have pimples that are like hurting and you're just like, why

14:17 do they hurt so bad?

14:18 Just put ice on it.

14:20 And it really does help with inflammation and it helps like I noticed in about two days

14:25 it'll go down.

14:26 It's still there, but it will go down.

14:28 It doesn't hurt as much.

14:29 Oh wow.

14:30 I've never heard that one, but I know you didn't get that sunscreen from me because

14:34 I'm not a sunscreen person, unless we go into the pool or something.

14:39 I never really promoted sunscreen.

14:42 So when did you like get into, what was your first introduction to me?

14:47 Like, Oh, this is something that is new to me that I want to make a part of my skin routine.

14:54 Um, TikTok.

14:56 But there's a rabbit hole with TikTok.

15:01 Yes.

15:02 But, um, I was seeing a lot of people talk about it and I'm like, okay, but then I saw

15:07 people that look like me and we're talking about, you know, hyperpigmentation and talking

15:12 about how to reduce that and help with that.

15:15 And they're like, if you're using a lot of, um, products that are helping with acne and

15:20 dark spots, you being in the sun is going to really hinder your sensibility.

15:29 And helps with that.

15:34 But there was this, a person on TikTok who I saw them go from having like really bad

15:43 hyperpigmentation, acne and everything.

15:45 And I saw the transformation, I think they had PCOS.

15:51 So I saw the transformation and they completely changed their skin barrier and everything.

15:57 And they were preaching about sunscreen and they use black girl sunscreen.

16:03 That's the brand.

16:05 And I was like, wow.

16:07 Okay.

16:08 And I like black girl sunscreen.

16:10 I used the non greasy one because some people use the kids one because it's non greasy,

16:18 but I don't like feeling greasy and like, you know, like I have product on my skin.

16:23 So I do the same thing.

16:26 But yeah, use black girl sunscreen.

16:30 I was just excited when you were talking, when I remember you first mentioned sunscreen.

16:35 And it was funny because I had just listened to a podcast on one of my favorite, one of

16:39 my favorite podcasts is balanced black girl and the, the host last, she had this guest

16:46 on and they were talking about sunscreen design for melanated skin.

16:52 And I think that's when I, I was telling you about it and we were able to find it in target,

16:58 you know, we love target shout out to target.

17:01 Yeah.

17:02 But the fact that they carry so many products, you know, for people of color and that being

17:10 one of them that I know if we, if I ever use the sunscreen, that would definitely be the

17:16 sunscreen that I use just because of the research that I did on it and looked into it and saw

17:21 how it was done that I really liked it.

17:24 Yes.

17:25 And that's all I asked for.

17:27 Just do research about sunscreen and figure out like, maybe you don't want to use it for

17:34 whatever reasons, but please don't just say, Oh, I'm not going to use it because I don't

17:38 need it.

17:39 Do more research, find out about it.

17:42 And from there you can make your opinions and you know, formulate your own thinking.

17:50 And like you said, you don't have to use it every day.

17:52 You know, you can figure out when it, what works best for you and in your skin.

17:59 Yes.

18:00 What about like drinking different things?

18:06 I know we talked, y'all have tried like the chlorophyll.

18:09 Is that something that was like good for skin or?

18:12 Oh my God.

18:13 Thank you for bringing that up.

18:16 I have my chlorophyll with me right now.

18:22 I drink, well, I haven't really been drinking it every day.

18:25 This one's supposed to be an energy booster and that's mainly what I'm focusing on.

18:32 But chlorophyll has, sorry, has scientific research because I haven't really done the

18:44 research myself and like looked it up and like seeing actual proof.

18:50 Y'all do your own research and figure it out for yourself.

18:53 But I've heard many people praise chlorophyll and talk about how chlorophyll has cleared

18:57 the skin and everything.

18:58 And I've seen the before and afters of it.

19:01 I haven't been using it long enough to fully like inconsistently enough to fully see the

19:07 difference because some days I use it and then put it in my water and it doesn't taste

19:13 like anything to me.

19:14 I just have the regular, what is it, the regular flavor, but there's different flavors if that's

19:21 what you're into.

19:23 But I like it because it's another way to get greens and everything.

19:29 And I know a lot of people are like, well, just eat greens, just eat your vegetables,

19:33 but who got time for that?

19:35 No, but some people don't have access to healthy and like fresh fruits and vegetables every

19:42 day.

19:43 And when you're on the go, it's nice to have that.

19:47 And yeah, I'm a stick beside it.

19:49 I'm a stick beside chlorophyll.

19:51 You're going to ride for the chlorophyll.

19:53 I am.

19:57 You said a product that you like has turmeric in it and you know everything.

20:05 And I will say that I'm thinking about getting this soap.

20:09 This has turmeric and I think kojic acid.

20:14 I don't know if that's how you say it, but it's supposed to be really good for discoloration

20:20 and for inflammation and like acne and stuff.

20:26 So I want to try that.

20:27 Yeah.

20:28 And I think that's the one thing I like about turmeric because it is grateful inflammation.

20:33 And when I do use that bar soap, it does not dry my face out at all.

20:37 Like my face actually feels clean afterwards.

20:41 I should stick with it.

20:42 I don't know why I keep looking for like more stuff, better stuff.

20:46 I think this is how the human brain goes.

20:49 Like okay, let me see if I can have a backup just in case.

20:54 I was just going to say that's how we're wired.

20:57 We always want more.

20:59 We do, but I'm going to let you go in a few minutes, but I just wanted to talk, we were

21:04 talking about the chlorophyll and drinking and different things, but what about this

21:10 notion that if you drink pH balanced water, that it'll help balance your body out, which

21:19 in turn will also balance your skin out.

21:22 Have you ever like, no?

21:25 Yes.

21:27 The alkaline water.

21:29 Yeah.

21:30 Yeah.

21:31 Those are expensive.

21:32 Those are so expensive.

21:36 I think with a lot of stuff that's good for you, obviously they're going to be expensive.

21:42 People are, that's the way capitalism works, sadly.

21:48 But yeah, I think it just, science, it makes sense that if your water is alkaline, that

21:56 it will help your body and everything clear your skin.

22:00 But the sad thing is, is that if you can't afford that and, or maybe you just live in

22:08 an area where maybe you can't afford to get the nicer water, or you can't afford to get

22:19 a filter to filter out your water, then it's kind of like you're at a disadvantage.

22:30 Yeah.

22:31 Unfortunately we see that a lot.

22:35 Yeah.

22:36 But yeah, it's scientifically proven that alkaline water is very good for your body,

22:44 good for your skin.

22:46 It tastes better too.

22:48 I'm a firm believer that all water has a different taste.

22:52 You can taste the difference, it tastes crisp.

22:55 Clean.

22:56 Yeah.

22:57 I think it's important to know that.

23:00 I love the fact that over the years since I've been a kid to see how our health has

23:10 changed, wellness has changed, wellness for your skin has changed and how you look at

23:15 that is so different now.

23:16 Well, Kalaura, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to chat with me.

23:21 But just in case people want to connect with you, tell them where they can find you on

23:26 your TikTok.

23:27 It's earth, the number two, and then Kalorox.

23:33 You want me to spell it out?

23:35 Yes.

23:36 Okay.

23:37 So you gotta see how it's okay.

23:41 K A L O R X.

23:45 I'll be reposting stuff on TikTok.

23:48 I don't actually post my own content, but I love being on there.

23:53 All right.

23:54 Sharing and connecting.

23:55 So if anybody got some tips, they'll send them to you and you can connect with them

23:59 that way.

24:00 All right, you guys.

24:02 Well that is all the juicy tea that we have to spill today.

24:06 But if you have not yet connected with me, you know where to find me.

24:09 You can find me on Instagram at Mikita Smith and I will see you next Tuesday for some more

24:15 delicious hot tea.

24:16 Until next time, namaste.

24:19 Namaste.