Biracial people are a beautiful set of humans. It takes an event as big as the world cup to make us forget the Royal Wedding of a biracial woman to the prince.
Everyone has that secret romantic in them. What could be more fairy-tale than a prince’s marriage to his love? The most exciting spectacle in this fairy tale is the possibility of having a biracial British royal.
As we eagerly await Harry and Meghan Markle’s cute babies, it is interesting to know a bit about biracial care. Listed below are some of the challenges Meghan’s mother, Dorian Ragland might have faced in raising the beautiful biracial duchess. Some of these same issues might be faced by Meghan if she has kids..
1. Eczema on Biracial Skin
Eczema is a skin condition that is characterized by dry, itchy, discolored patches of skin. It is most visible inside the elbows, ankles, wrists, knees and sometimes on the face.
This skin condition is hereditary and can flare up at any time, but is found mostly in children and young adults. Causes of eczema goes right back to the body itself. The immune system, fighting against perceived threats triggered by heat, sweat, certain foods or clothes. Other irritants include scented body products, stress, and dry weather.
Eczema on biracial skin appears as an ashy/grey patch on the skin.
To control eczema, use non-irritating skin care products and avoid harsh chemicals and rough sponges or loofahs. Moisture is key in order to keep the area from being dry. It is important to minimize bath and shower time which often strip the skin of natural oils.
2. Care of Dried Biracial skin
Dry skin is the bane of black skin. A whole market has been created to produce moisturizers for African American skin. Biracial children could suffer greatly from dry skin as it might not be immediately visible.
For better effect, moisturizers and creams should be applied to still damp skin within 3 minutes of having a bath.
This way, you lock in the moisture. Heavily perfumed or alcoholic skin care products will leave the skin in a worse state than ever.
ALSO READ : WHY SHEA BUTTER IS THE BEST MOISTURIZER FOR BLACK SKIN
3. Hair
Hair texture is perhaps the most beautiful feature of biracial kids. Unfortunately, lots of parents who aren’t used to dealing with curly hair textures and coarse African hair would have quite a field day getting acquainted with this type of hair.
There is a ton of information available on African hair types and they could be quite daunting. The key issues are to know the hair textures and to keep the hair adequately moisturized.
Excessive washing could be damaging to Afro hair, stripping it of natural oils, unlike straight Caucasian hair. Natural oils and moisturizers are quite helpful in handling Afro hair.
4. Lips
Dry lips are a constant problem with people of African descent. Chapped lips come in and out of season and could sometimes be a visible sign of ill health or impending dehydration.
Natural moisturizers such as Shea butter or even coconut oil are great for treating chapped lips. It is important to get long term treatments and not just a continual process of having to re-apply every few hours.
Some specially formulated lip balms and chapets are quite effective at healing or controlling chapped lips.
5. Face care for a Biracial person
Special care must be taken for the face, which is possibly the most exposed part of the body. Face creams and moisturizers should always be handy, to prevent dried out skin.
Shopping for facials and hair products, which could wash down to the face through sweating, should be done carefully. The skin of the face, despite being quite exposed, is pretty sensitive. Protect the face by all means from harsh products containing alcohol.
A biracial child looking whiter or slightly grayish might be a sign of dried out skin. Care must be taken to combat dry skin as soon as possible.
Carry around some mild cleansers or wipes is in order to wipe off sweat and dust before re-moisturizing the face.
6. Sun and Biracial skin
Babies should be kept as far away from the sun as possible. On occasion when they must get some sun, their bodies should be well clothed to avoid sun burns.
Biracial kids might suffer this a whole lot cos they might get sunburns that might not be immediately visible, depending on their skin tones.
The idea that blacks don’t suffer from sun inflicted skin problems is a whole different ball game. This statement is proven absolutely false by the number of Africans and African-Americans who suffer from skin cancer, burns and a whole lot of other issues.
The legendary Bob Marley, died at age 36 of a variant of skin cancer is a good example of the gravity of skin diseases in a biracial. Every baby that might be exposed to the sun should be protected with a sun-screen of SPF 30 or more.
You can apply either light sunscreen gels/sprays for oily skin or creams and lotions for dry skin, depending on the skin type and texture. The sunscreen should be re-applied after vigorous exercises or water sports.
These are just a few aspects of physically caring for biracial children. We could go on and on, skin care is a delicate and sometimes exhaustive venture. But seeing your happy, healthy baby with glowing skin makes all the stress worthwhile.
