

A Beauty Expert Walks Us Through The Skincare Tips You Need This Winter
The gag is Black does crack. Not as often as we think but we must be careful with the catchy saying because it lends to misinformation. And while we love the many blessings of having melanin skin, we still have to be good to our skin. As the temperatures and seasons change, we must arm ourselves with the best products and tips to keep our skin on glow. To do that, we enlisted some help.
Self-proclaimed, Native New Yawker, Danielle Gray is a skincare girly we can trust. For years, she's been helping us get our skin together one online video at a time. You may know her as the @stylenbeautydoc on Instagram but Gray has also been featured in Allure, ESSENCE, Good Housekeeping and seen on Rachael Ray, Dr. Phil, and New York Live. We had the opportunity to chat with her about some hacks and products she trusts and this is what she had to say about keeping her skin glowing all winter long.
Courtesy of Danielle Gray
Her top fall/winter skincare must-haves:
- Sunscreen: "Yes, even darker skin—sun exposure also worsens pigmentation."
- Retinoids: "They do a number of things for the skin—help with texture, discoloration, boosts collagen, etc."
- Essence + Hydrating Serum: "Hydrated skin glows, looks bouncy, and is less prone to damage. And yes, you need to hydrate even if you have oily skin. I have oily skin and love using a combo of an essence and a hydrating serum on damp skin, followed by a moisturizer."
- Vitamin C: "It may not be for everybody, but I love vitamin C because there’s good research on its ability to protect the skin from environmental damage, boosting collagen, and its brightening properties. Aka, it comes with receipts that it’s going to help your skin look more snatched and glowy."
- Derm visits: "Okay, I know this isn’t a product, but I love how my derm treatments have made improvements to my skin along with what I do at home with my skincare routine."
Her go-to products for hyperpigmentation and discoloration:
"I know my answer is about to make people mad, but honestly, the best product is very subjective. What your skin loves, my skin may hate. But if you’re looking to treat discoloration, there are some things you can look for, but you’ll have to actually try the products to see how they work for you. Look for ingredients like niacinamide, lactic acid, alpha arbutin, licorice root, tranexamic acid, glycolic acid, vitamin C, retinoids, etc. You don’t need to find 8 different products with these ingredients—look for products that have a number of these ingredients, like Murad Rapid Dark Spot Correcting Serum.
"You also want to use sunscreen religiously–year-round. Sun exposure worsens pigmentation. Avoiding getting discoloration is probably one of the best ways to treat it—though in some cases, this isn’t practical. Irritation can lead to inflammation that can lead to hyperpigmentation. So avoiding irritation to the skin (i.e. burns, scratches, dryness, bug bites, acne, friction, etc.) can lessen your likelihood of getting dark spots.
"Another great tool is a skin of color pro—an esthetician and/or dermatologist who has extensive experience working on skin of color. Some discoloration doesn’t respond well to at-home treatments, and you may need to see a pro—but again, you want to see someone who knows what they’re doing with [your skin] because, in the wrong hands, it could get worse."
Courtesy of Danielle Gray
Her ultimate tip for avoiding dry skin in the winter:
"One of the best things you can do is remove yourself from hot showers. People HATE when I say this, but I’m not telling you to take an ice-cold shower. Hot water zaps the skin, and skin of color already suffers from dry skin—when you add cold winter and drying things like indoor heating and fabrics like wool, it’s a Sahara. Turn the water temperature down bit by bit. You can do it! Another best practice is to apply your moisturizer right after a shower while your skin is still damp."
Her recommendation for a simple nighttime skincare routine:
"Use a gentle cleanser for your skin type and current skin needs, slap on a moisturizer, and good night. If you wear makeup, remove the makeup first, gentle cleanser, and then moisturize. If you want to elevate this, you can use a retinol moisturizer Olay Retinol24 moisturizerso you kill two birds with one stone."
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Featured image courtesy of Danielle Gray
- We Asked A Dermatologist All Your Burning Skincare Questions ›
- All-Natural Ways To Keep Your Skin Super Soft This Fall & Winter ›
Joce Blake is a womanist who loves fashion, Beyonce and Hot Cheetos. The sophistiratchet enthusiast is based in Brooklyn, NY but has southern belle roots as she was born and raised in Memphis, TN. Keep up with her on Instagram @joce_blake and on Twitter @SaraJessicaBee.
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After college, I successfully landed an entertainment news role. I was passionate about my work and grateful for obtaining a job in my desired field. But like most entry-level positions in the creative industry, the pay was left to be desired. I quickly realized that I needed a second job to pay my bills.
Multiple career fairs later, I started a position with an insurance company.
My new role felt like my first “big girl” job because it had full benefits, and I couldn’t have been more excited. Plus, I could work this job during the day and my other gig at night. I excelled in my new role – exceeded the required enterprise accuracy score, received several cash awards, and was consistently selected to train my team members on different learning variances.
Everything was great initially, but unfortunately, the job that guaranteed financial stability became a nightmare after a while.
The first red flag was that this insurance company had an extremely high turnover rate primarily due to the relentless workload; therefore, teams were forced to consolidate and change leadership constantly. I was quickly burning out but overlooked the deteriorating company culture because it allowed me to keep my journalism gig and offered endless overtime. Also, the manager I had at the time was great – he provided opportunities for growth and mentorship.
It wasn’t until I reached my fourth manager that I had my first experience with a hostile work environment.
After several months on her team, my manager started the process of “quietly firing” me despite excelling on the team.
Team Building refers to quiet firing as a “passive-aggressive approach to performance management.” Supervisors will create unpleasant work conditions, which can cause an employee to suffer mentally, emotionally, and sometimes physically.
Whether unintentional – because leaders can unintentionally be neglectful – or intentional, quiet firing creates a toxic work environment.
She stopped providing feedback, blocked promotional opportunities, and eventually denied my yearly raise. I felt hopeless. I couldn’t properly do my role some days because my manager spent most of her office hours avoiding her team. All issues on the team were ignored, and any work-related questions went unanswered.
Whenever I walked into the office, it felt like a dark cloud was cast over me because most of my day would consist of doing others’ jobs or explaining to other managers why I was reaching out to them instead of my own. It wasn’t until I worked myself nearly to death that I realized this job wasn’t worth it.
My health declined rapidly. I started to experience excruciating body aches and fatigue, and my hair was falling out. Clocking into a job where I was just a number, and work still had to be completed despite my failing health was exhausting. I ignored constant pleas from friends and family members to get help out of fear of being unable to pay my bills.
The last time I was admitted to the hospital, my manager called me, and instead of asking how I was, she asked when I was returning to work. The team’s numbers decreased drastically, and upper management wasn’t happy. My manager couldn't care less if I was okay as long as I made her look good. I’m not sure why it seemed like a shocking revelation at the time, but it did. The next time I went into the office, I resigned.
After a few years of forcing a working relationship that wasn’t meant to be, I finally left.
And in all my years of working, that job was the only one I ever walked away from. Although the toxic environment influenced my decision, something about quitting made me feel like a failure. Truthfully, I felt guilty for quitting at first. I believed it was irresponsible to quit without a backup plan. However, I later learned that my manager's hostile tactics, which I loathed, ended up being a blessing.
The entire experience made me realize that God had repeatedly shown me to leave that toxic job, but I was too afraid. It wasn’t until He made me sit still that I learned that this door was meant to close. Strangely, I’m happy my manager acted the way she did because I would’ve never had the courage to leave since that job equaled stability; I was complacent because I could pay my bills.
And that’s the life of so many currently – staying in an uncomfortable position because it offers stability.
That job also taught me the importance of pivoting. It doesn’t matter what your plan or backup plan is; you must be able to pivot at any time – be flexible and adaptable. The last lesson it taught me was never to settle for a job regardless of pay. I am no longer afraid to turn down a job if it’s not a good fit.
My physical and mental health is far more important than a job that can easily replace me at any moment.
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Feature image by FG Trade/ Getty Images