Injectables, Black women and the Stigma

The stigma surrounding Black women and injectables is long established and the reasons for this are plenty. A key reason is that the aesthetics industry has typically centred white Eurocentric beauty standards both in its approach and the marketing of cosmetic procedures. Add to that, the lack of visibility of Black and brown people in clinical research which leaves many Black women concerned about safety, and worried they will be left with results unsympathetic to their natural features. All very understandable.

Here’s the thing though, we know that Black women (and men!) are interested in injectables - it’s in our top three most popular queries. We also know that some of you are massive advocates and fully paid up members of the injectables brigade. Dr Tijion Esho, cosmetic doctor and founder of the ESHO Clinic, estimates that 30-40% of his patients are Black. Given the number of injectable curious Black women we speak to, we know that this figure could be so much higher if people are armed with the right information and knowledge. Check out the Black Skin Directory Injectables Glossary >>>

But back to the matter in hand - why are so many of us in the Black community suspicious of injectables? A quick search on Google revealed threw up 236 million results for the question  ‘can Black people get injectables?’ There are obvious concerns about safety, community acceptance and whether the aesthetic industry itself can do more to lift age old stigmas?

Let’s go deeper.

White is right?

There is a long history of white Eurocentric beauty standards being celebrated and centred as the north star of cosmetic treatments, while facial features typical in Black and brown are overlooked. For decades, actress Angelina Jolie was epitomised as the optimal golden ratio of beauty. The injectables industry is especially renowned for marketing, imagery and discussion that inevitably focuses on white women.

In her book Black Skin - The Definitive Skincare Guide, Aesthetician Dija Ayodele examined why Black skin has historically taken second place in beauty standards. She revealed that basic concepts of light and white were associated with good, innocence and holiness whereas black and darkness being linked to evil and death go back nearly 2000 years to the stories of the curse of the Ham in the book of Genesis in the Old Testament.

“Noah cursed his grandson Canaan, for the sins of his father Ham. The curse was to black the skin of Ham’s descendants and subject them to slavery.”

Enslavement of Africans was the starting point for Black skin to be seen as inferior and ugly. Whilst slavery is no more, sadly we still see some of the effects today in the beauty and aesthetics industry.

The pressure of Black beauty

There is a lot of community pride in the power of black beauty  and many Black women worry that with injectable treatments, they will automatically be made to look ‘whiter’ and their natural features won’t be celebrated. There is also the concern of criticism from the wider Black community, where there is a commonly held notion that ‘Black don’t crack.’

Dr Stephanie Williams, dermatologist and medical director of Eudelo notes that ‘it is an unfounded worry that cosmetic injectables (if done well!) will make the person look different (‘not like themselves’), because correctly done cosmetic treatments will retain individual facial features and ethnic characteristics, while making the face look like it used to some years ago – fresher rather than different.’ Dr Esho adds that it is important that concepts such as the Golden Ratio are only a guide and that it is really important to preserve a patient’s natural features and not strip their identity. To do this, each patient must be approached as an individual and their own features enhanced.

Systemic Mistrust

The lack of conversation and imagery linked to Black women using injectables also unfortunately strengthens the longstanding distrust many Black women feel in medical systems. It is well known that clinical trials for many medications and products have failed to include data of Black skin, simply inferring safety standards and seemingly hoping for the best. This means that Black women are often unable to ascertain whether a product or treatment is truly formulated with their concerns in mind.

The even more serious side to this conversation is the fact that Black people have been suffered abuse in ‘medical trials’, take the tragic cases of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, Henrietta Lacks and the Holmsburg Prison experiments. Understandably, this leaves many in the community feeling uncertain about the safety and truthfulness of medical treatments, including cosmetic procedures. It is easy to see why there may not be a huge public queue of Black women embracing injectables as white women do.

Appropriation Culture

Another trend we’ve noted in popular culture is Black features such as fuller lips and bottoms being used to fuel fads and trends. On one hand, it’s brilliant to see these celebrations, but what happens when these looks are no longer ‘cool’ or trendy? Lately, we’ve also witnessed many celebrities opting to slim down their voluminous, rounded booties, dissolve fillers and other injectables - leaning into the minimalist trends of the ‘clean girl’ aesthetic that’s all over social media.

But where does that leave Black women who don’t have the option to opt out? Once again, pushed to the side and not viewed as desirable, it is important to remember that once Black cultures and fashions are no longer profitable, a lot of companies will simply move on to the next trend.

This disposable treatment of Black women and black beauty, again reveals why so many opt out of engaging with the aesthetics industry in the first instance and further drives stigmatisation of those who chose to partake.

Room for improvement

The stigma around Black women using injectables is understandable but also misplaced. It leaves many feeling that injectables aren’t a valid option for them, or not something they can openly discuss if they’re partial to a filler occasionally. It doesn’t help that there is lack of imagery that centres Black women, a lack of visible Black practitioners and nuanced discussion of the needs and concerns of Black patients. Put simply, we need more open discussion and showcasing of injectables to normalise the process.

Dr Ifeoma Ejikeme, Medical Consultant and founder of Adonia Medical Clinic concludes ‘misinformation and misconceptions about the safety and effectiveness of injectables on Black skin have perpetuated biases and stigmas, all injectables are suitable for all skin types.’