Two Nigerian Woman Created a Sunscreen for People of Color, Oh Heck Yes!
Chidozie and Ndidi Obidoa, both Nigerian-born, have just launched a new product called Bolden SPF 30 moisturizer specifically formulated for people of color that goes on clear and doesn’t leave a dreaded chalky residue.
In other words, you won’t look like Casper the ghost!
So what’s the secret? Instead of containing typical sunscreen ingredients like zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, it has octinoxate and avobenzone, which spreads sheer on application — that’s right, sheer on application.
So how did the idea come about? Apparently, it was when the two (who are married to brothers) went on vaykay in Key West and Chidozie found that her sunscreen wasn’t sinking in no matter how much she rubbed it in.
“It wasn’t wearable. You just looked like a ghost,” she said to Elle. “That was really frustrating.”
As Elle reports, after doing some research, the two of them set out to create a daily moisturizer with SPF before just as an introduction for people to just start using sunscreen. “People say ‘black don’t crack’ but you need to take care of your skin–there’s a lot of education to be done around the need to protect yourself from UVA and UVB rays,” Obidoa added.
“People within the community have to step up to do something and get a seat at the table so when these decisions [about beauty products] are being made, there are considerations for people across the board,” said Chidozie.