SheaMoisture Has a New Skincare Range – and It's for Melanin-Rich Skin

Written by: Precious Umeasalugo

Meet the SheaMoisture Nourished & Radiant Melanin Care range. It includes six products all targeting different melanin-rich skin concerns, including acne, dark spots, and skin dryness.

At The Beautiful Societies, we are all about deep diving into melanin-rich skincare so here goes! Does the range work? How exactly does the range help with problem areas for melanin-rich skin? To answer these questions and more, we tapped Tiffany Yizar, Head of R&D for SheaMoisture, to explain the innovation that went into this affordable and accessible range.

“Growing up in New York, I have seen SheaMoisture move from being sold on the streets to beauty supply stores to leading in bringing textured haircare to mainstream store shelves. Now, I’m grown, and SheaMoisture is, too, extending our stash of shampoos and curl-enhancing smoothies to a new line of melanin-friendly skincare,” says Yizar.

The Expert

Tiffany Yizar is a senior director of research & development (R&D) at Unilever, responsible for the Beauty & Wellbeing North America portfolio and leads the Polycultural Center of Excellence where she leads the team that innovates for textured hair and melanin-rich skin consumers under iconic brands like SheaMoisture and Vaseline, among others.

She has over 18 years of experience in fast-moving consumer goods, working in R&D and factory engineering roles, spending the last 8 years in Beauty & Wellbeing R&D for Unilever.  Her responsibilities cover leading the formulation chemists, consumer technical insights teams, packaging development, and process engineering teams, all focused on delivering new & delightful product experiences for our consumers. 

In addition to business delivery, Tiffany is focused on fostering an inclusive and diverse workforce as co-president of the Black Excellence @ Unilever (BE-U) business resource group and devotes efforts specifically to maintaining a robust diverse science, technology, engineering & math (STEM) pipeline within and outside of Unilever

Why Melanin Care?

Skin of color, or melanin-rich skin, is a beautifully complex subset of skin, where melanin acts as a signal for skin inflammation. And so, when cuts or tears appear on the skin or harsh weather conditions like harmattan or winter take place, melanin-rich skin is known to react with tell-tale signs like dark spots, acne, or dryness. That is why SheaMoisture sought to create a range that targets these concerns quickly and efficiently.

"Black women experience different face care issues and needs based on the biology of their skin. The SheaMoisture Nourished & Radiant line delivers superior products tailored to their unique needs in order and remain relevant in such an ever-changing category", Yizar explained.

The Ingredients

It was essential for SheaMoisture to ensure that this skincare range serves women with melanin-rich skin, and one of the ways to do that was with the choice of ingredients. 

"The key ingredients powering SheaMoisture's Nourished & Radiant products have proven efficacy on consumers with melanin-rich skin. In addition, all our products undergo extensive safety assessments.”  Yizar added. 

 The range features elderberry complex, niacinamide, and pro-ceramides like glycerin, and stearic acid, which hydrate to restore luster, and promote healthy, balanced, even toned skin.

The Products

The range includes six products, all under $16: a gentle face cleanser, an even tone serum for dark spot correction, a broad-spectrum SPF 30 sunscreen, a night repair cream, a salicylic acid serum for acne, and a more specialized face cleanser with exfoliating acids. The baseline? They're a cocktail of ingredients that are great for visibly reducing dark spots and dryness.

SheaMoisture Nourished & Radiant products are made with premium skincare and ingredients that deliver deep moisturization and more. 

For Dark Spot Correction

"Dark spots are a common concern for melanin-rich skin, so the Even Tone serum is one people can look forward to trying."

"The even tone serum is formulated with our triple action even tone complex technology, combining three powerhouse actives: niacinamide, hexyl resorcinol and retinyl propionate. These ingredients act to provide brighter, more radiant skin, through exfoliation, reducing the appearance of dark spots and overall enhancing even tone.” Ms. Yizzar added

The Even Tone Serum is formulated with 3% niacinamide, clinically proven to visibly reduce dark spots and even skin tone in eight weeks. The efficacy of SheaMoisture Even Tone Serum has also been clinically validated by testing on melanin-rich skin of FitzPatrick skin type 4 – 6, and it is dermatologist tested.

The Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Sunscreen Face Lotion

Sunscreen is indispensable in the fight against hyperpigmentation, and SheaMoisture did not overlook that.

“The Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Face Lotion is formulated with organic sunscreens that blend in seamlessly, leaving no white cast on darker skin tone. The product is also effective on melanin-rich skin, protecting it from UVA/UVB rays, visible, blue light and formulated with niacinamide, which provides additional skincare benefits like even tone, visibly reduces dark spots prevention of moisture loss, and reduction of the appearance of fine lines. The pro-ceramide technology strengthens skin barrier against external aggressors for a healthy resilient skin”. Ms. Yizzar explains. 

For Breakouts and Texture

For breakouts and texture, Ms. Yizzar recommends two products from the line: the SheaMoisture 4-in-1 Acne Treatment Serum and the BHA Exfoliating Gel Cleanser, both of which contain Salicylic Acid and Niacinamide.

The 4-in-1 Acne Treatment Serum works by treating and helping prevent acne, while calming and hydrating skin

The BHA Exfoliating Gel Cleanser can be used for daily skin renewal, gently removing dull skin cells to enhance brightness and tone."

For Barrier Repair

Night creams are "skincare in your sleep", and this one by SheaMoisture addresses several concerns while you're in dreamland. 

"Our night repair cream is formulated with niacinamide and pro-ceramides. Niacinamide provides melanin-rich skincare benefits like even tone, reduction of spots and marks, preventing moisture loss and reducing the appearance of fine lines. The pro-ceramide technology strengthens the protective skin barrier to replenish radiance while you sleep", Ms. Yizzar states.