'Clean' Is A Skincare Non-Negotiable For This Esthetician's Beauty Routine
For as long as she can remember, Dineka Young has been a student of beauty.
During her early school days, her mom enrolled her in a school where beauty was quite literally a part of the curriculum. At eight years old, the Mayo Hill School of Modeling put a young Dineka on game for how to always "look presentable" and maintain her "personal beauty" among other lessons. The now 30-something licensed esthetician and nutritionist jokingly says her time there "created a monster."
The Houston native indulges her affinity for beauty through her skincare brand, SKINBYDI where she provides in-person skincare services as well as all-natural skincare products underneath the same moniker. The evolution of her skincare routine and approach to beauty came with time and changes in her skin, understanding what worked for her skin and ultimately letting go of what didn't.
"I used to believe all skincare products were created equal," she explains in our interview. "As a teen and in early adulthood, I had pretty low-maintenance skin, so I could use and try literally everything with no problem. As I got older, [in] mid-twenties, stressed [and] hormones going insane, I learned that was not the case and that it was very important to use products with purpose to help achieve a particular skincare goal."
Dineka went on to explain that trying out various products on her "temperamental skin" was a "no-go." Just like she streamlined the beauty products she used in her arsenal for better skincare habits, the content creator also adjusted her lens to widen her perspective of what is beautiful. "I used to think that beauty was something you put on, you know? Like, 'I’m beautiful because I got my lashes done, my brows threaded, and my hair is done.' Now, I see beauty in myself and others in their natural state. Bare skin, frizzy hair, bushy brows, etc."
"Now, I see beauty in myself and others in their natural state. Bare skin, frizzy hair, bushy brows..."
Nowadays, it's clean beauty and non-toxic ingredients only. "Non-toxic ingredients are non-negotiable." She continues, "I treat my clients’ skin in the treatment room just as I would treat mine. Professionally working with skin has only solidified my stanning of clean beauty. I have had clients come to see me after seeing a dermatologist, being put on topical and oral meds, and seeing no progress in their skin. I have had clients that have totally different skincare concerns or goals and still be put on the same prescriptions. It's wild."
Seeing the way certain prescriptions had a chokehold on clients, whether or not they made progress in their overall skincare concerns fueled Dineka's desire to rep for clean beauty even more. "It’s made me advocate for natural options, while also wanting to educate and bring light to those areas. There’s beauty in patience and giving your skin time to naturally transform or improve. This is what I try to explain to my clients," she shares. "No shade at all to derms because, of course, they are doctors, and they can provide great pharmaceutical relief when absolutely needed."
Keep reading to learn more about Dineka's self-care must-haves and wind-down routine.
Her locs, her beauty:
"As an adult now that is natural with locs I’ve learned that my hair doesn't have to be silky and straight to be admirable or beautiful. My loc journey is one separate from my skincare journey, and it still has so much impact on my personal beauty standards and loving my entire self."
Her self-care must-haves:
"A good hydrating mist, one that's extremely refreshing and light. It refreshes your entire day when you use it. Supplements for gut health as well as skin health. A top-tier body exfoliant. I am obsessed with my smooth skin. It's just a necessity. (My favorite is the microcrystal buffing bar from @softservices on Instagram. It’s unmatched.) A stainless steel gua sha because lymphatic drainage is important, and who doesn't love snatched cheekbones and jawlines?"
Her evening wind down routine:
"I typically start unwinding for the night with a good stretch or slow Pilates flow. (I just bought a reformer that I found on OfferUp, and I am obsessed). Then I do my skincare routine, shower, pray/meditate with my husband, have a cup of tea, then go to bed."
For more of Dineka, follow her on Instagram @dinekaa.
Featured image via Dinekaa/Instagram
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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You've Never Seen Luke James In A Role Quite Like This
Over the years, we've watched Luke James play countless characters we'd deem sex symbols, movie stars, and even his complicated character in Lena Waithe's The Chi. For the first time in his career, the New Orleans-born actor has taken on a role where his signature good looks take a backseat as he transforms into Edmund in Them: The Scare—a mentally deranged character in the second installment of the horror anthology series that you won't be able to take your eyes off.
Trust us, Edmund will literally make you do a double take.
xoNecole sat down with Luke James to talk about his latest series and all the complexity surrounding it—from the challenges taking on this out-of-the-box role to the show's depiction of the perplexing history of the relationship between Black Americans and police. When describing the opportunity to bring Edmund's character to life, Luke was overjoyed to show the audience yet another level of his masterful acting talents.
"It was like bathing in the sun," he said. "I was like, thank you! Another opportunity for me to be great—for me to expand my territory. I'm just elated to be a part of it and to see myself in a different light, something I didn't think I could do." He continued, "There are parts of you that says, 'Go for it because this is what you do.' But then also that's why it's a challenge because you're like, 'um, I don't know if I'm as free as I need to be to be able to do this.' Little Marvin just created such a safe space for me to be able to do this, and I'm grateful for everything I've been able to do to lead to this."
Courtesy
Them: The Scare, like the first season, shines a light on the plight of Black Americans in the United States. This time, the story is taking place in the 1990s, at the height of the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles. While the series presents many underlying themes, one that stands out is Black people and the complicated relationship with the police. "For the audience, I think it sets the tone for the era that we're in and the amount of chaos that's in the air in Los Angeles and around the country from this heinous incident. And I say it just sets the tone of the anxiety and anxiousness that everybody is feeling in their own households."
James has been a longtime advocate against police brutality himself. He has even featured Elijah McClain, the 23-year-old Colorado man who died after being forcibly detained by officers, as his Instagram avatar for the past five years. So, as you can imagine, this script was close to his heart. "Elijah was a soft-loving oddball. Different than anyone but loving and a musical genius. He was just open and wanted to be loved and seen."
Getty Images
Luke continued, "His life was taken from him. I resonate with his spirit and his words...through all the struggle and the pain he still found it in him to say, 'I love you and I forgive you.' And that's who we are as people—to our own detriment sometimes. He's someone I don't want people to forget. I have yet to remove his face from my world because I have yet to let go of his voice, let go of that being [because] there's so many people we have lost in our history that so often get forgotten."
He concluded, "I think that's the importance of such artwork that moves us to think and talk about it. Yes, it's entertaining. We get to come together and be spooked together. But then we come together and we think, 'Damn, Edmund needed someone to talk to. Edmund needed help... a lot [of] things could have been different. Edmund could have been saved.'
Check out the full interview below.
Luke James Talks Ditching Sex Symbol Status For "Them: The Scare", Elijah McClain, & Morewww.youtube.com
Featured image by Getty Images