The director and actor shares her vision for a more equitable skin-care industry, and the self-care practices that keep her going.
How Regina King Is Fighting for Equity in Skin Care
From her acting roles to her directing projects, Regina King has made a habit of shedding light on the subjects that are important to her. Whether she’s playing a police detective battling white supremacists in Watchmen or portraying a reunion of icons as the director of One Night in Miami, King brings powerful, inspiring stories to the screen. Offscreen, she’s also been sparking conversations around the lack of skin-care equity for Black and Latinx communities.
Last November, King teamed up with Vaseline for the Equitable Skincare For All initiative, a campaign working with healthcare organizations MedScape and Direct Relief to provide further education to dermatologists and skin-care professionals when it comes to treating and caring for skin of color. It’s been proven that Black patients are less likely to receive the same care as their white counterparts for the same skin issues, and that skin cancer is more deadly for Latinx and Black communities. The field of dermatology sees a particular lack of representation among its doctors, with Black dermatologists making up 5.8% of the overall practice, and Hispanic dermatologists at 7%, according to a 2019 study.
Today, King is putting a further spotlight on this topic as she joins Tai Beauchamp on BET for a live conversation about how to ensure these communities get the skin-care treatment they need and deserve. “The opportunity to speak to people that look like me excites me,” King tells Vogue. “It will possibly get more people as enthusiastic as I am about educating people on the importance of taking care of your skin, and that skin is your biggest organ and how important it is to protect that.”
This story originally appeared on: Vogue - Author:Akili King
