Gabrielle Union Speaks Out About a Lack of Focus on Black Babies’ Unique Skin Care Needs

If you only look at their flawless photos, it’s easy to think that celebrities have it all together. But in a March 15 Instagram post, actress and entrepreneur Gabrielle Union-Wade confirmed that at least when it comes to parenting, celebrities are, in fact, just like us.

While giving herself a DIY facial mask treatment, Union-Wade took some time to echo many of the frustrations parents of children of color have on a regular basis and send a little love to those who think they may be getting it all wrong.

“One thing about motherhood it’s full of constant surprises. To any parent second guessing or feeling lost, just know you’re doing an amazing job and keep learning, 🫶🏾” she captioned the post.

Union-Wade shared that when she first saw diaper rash on her now-four-year-old daughter Kaavia, she thought she was “dying” because it didn’t look like anything she’d seen before.

“I wish I knew that Black and Brown kids have different skin care needs,” she said in the video, which has received over 50,000 likes so far. “Diaper rash looks a lot different on children of color than it does on kids without melanin.”

The Being Mary Jane star added that children of color are often left out of product testing and other studies, and she cautions parents to be wary of anything that claims to be the “best for all kids.”

The actress’ post was a collab with Proudly, her and husband Dwayne Wade’s line of cleaner baby care products formulated specifically to “nourish all shades of melanated skin.”

The company posted, “Thank you for your vulnerability and sharing this important message @gabunion! 💛✨ We’re PROUD to be centering the needs of Black & brown babies and their extra-special skin.”

Union-Wade ended her post with a plea for parents to do their own research and make sure they are “centering the needs of your melanated child.” And viewers appreciated her for using her platform to talk about the issue.”

One commenter wrote, “Definitely! I had to ask a Black Dermatologist for sun screen recommendations because all the “kid” sunscreens were showing up ashy white on my brown baby’s skin. And then could only find it online. Glad there are more options now than 12 years ago.”

Another wrote,“Normalize these types of conversations. Just speaking truth! 🔥🔥”