So, when it comes to protecting our largest organ, what is a Black or dark-skinned person like me supposed to do? First of all, wear sunscreen. “Black people need sunscreen for a number of reasons,” starts Peterson Pierre, a Black California-based dermatologist. “First, we need protection against ultraviolet radiation to decrease our risk of skin cancer.” he says. “Also, ultraviolet radiation causes the development of free radicals which not only lead to the development of cancers but also accelerates the aging process.” Sun damage — wrinkles and other physical signs — occur at a slower, and less noticeable rate in people with darker skin, Mokaya adds, but they do indeed occur.

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When shopping for a new shampoo, you likely start by standing in the aisle and staring at the dizzying array of options. Do you want a clarifying shampoo to remove build-up? A purple shampoo to cut brass? Once you’re thoroughly overwhelmed by the choices, you’ll probably resort to grabbing bottles off the shelf until you find the one that smells the best. While that buying practice may work for most, if you’ve been noticing your scalp looking flaky, itchy, or red, that beloved fragrance may be to blame.

“Most shampoos contain fragrance, and fragrance is the number one cause of allergic contact dermatitis,” says Peterson Pierre, M.D., dermatologist and founder of the Pierre Skin Care Institute. (FYI: Allergic contact dermatitis is a reaction resulting from contact with a substance or an allergy to it, according to the Mayo Clinic.) Similarly to how fragrance can irritate the skin on your face, it can also cause a reaction on the skin of your scalp. The symptoms for contact dermatitis could be redness, itching, or rash, says Trang Vu, a cosmetic sciences researcher and Ph.D. candidate at the University of Cincinnati.

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Imagine how awesome it would be to have a dermatologist for a parent–someone you could talk to or text, day or night, about all things skin. Well, it turns out, derms’ kids are no different than anyone else when on the receiving end of advice from their parents: “My daughter’s eyes kind of glazed over the first time I started telling her what to do about her acne; I had to remind her that people pay me for my opinion,” laughs Peterson Pierre, M.D., a dermatologist in Thousand Oaks, California who has a daughter, 20, and son, 18.

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If you use OTC retinol

Dr. Pierre recommended over-the-counter retinol for his kids’ mild acne because it’s anti-inflammatory (and therefore cuts down on zits’ redness), reduces oil production, helps refine pores and banishes blackheads and whiteheads. As with Rx treatments, start retinol slowly, applying only every few nights to start. “And apply moisturizer on top to deal with dryness,” he says.

If you use benzoyl peroxide

Although a killer acne-fighter (literally–it kills the bacteria that cause zits), BP can leave skin extra dry and it can bleach your clothes. So Dr. Pierre made sure his kids knew to get dressed before applying. Dr. Baumann also suggests that if your skin gets red or dry after using BP, apply barrier-repair moisturizer first. That gives skin a buffer, helping it better tolerate the treatment.

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