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Uncover The Unique Needs of Melanin-Rich Skin with the Founders of Brownkind · Skin Anarchy

• 0:02
  SPEAKER_03: Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of Skin Anarchy.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_03: This is your host, Ecta, and I'm really excited to introduce you guys to this brand today because I think when it comes to anyone who is suffering from hyperpigmentation, or if you're a person of color, you know that we suffer from a whole different variety of skin ailments than you know lighter skin tones.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_03: And so it's really important for us, or and for me especially, to highlight the brands that are really paving the road when it comes to creating more options in the space, creating more versatility in the space.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_03: And so without further ado, I would love to introduce you guys to the founders of Brownkind, which is a beautiful brand that's really geared towards these concerns.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_03: Dr.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_03: Abjit Desai and Dr.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_03: Gori Desai.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_03: Welcome to the show, Dr.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_03: Abijit and Dr.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_03: Gori.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_03: I'm so excited to host both of you.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much, Ekta.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_02: Really nice of you to invite us on this and really appreciate what you have been doing over the last uh years, you know, uh, in terms of giving us space for brands with skin of color.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you very much for that.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_01: Pleasure to be here, Ekta.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_01: Lovely meeting you like this.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_01: And uh always a pleasure to uh kind of talk about brown kind and uh, you know, things to do with it.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_03: No, it's truly an honor to host you both, and I can't wait to learn more about your background because I know you're both so highly accomplished in your field.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_03: And and I would love to start off there.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_03: If Dr.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_03: Abijit, maybe you could get us started with just telling us about what really sparked your interest in dermatology and led you to creating a brand.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_02: Well, uh it's a it's a slightly long story, but I'll I'll make it as short as possible.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, but uh so I actually have been in actual clinical dermatology practice in Mumbai for almost 25 years now.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_02: And being in Mumbai, I've been privileged to see almost every shade of brown from the light end to the dark end of the spectrum, you know.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_02: And over the years, seeing many patients, it was always a little disappointing, you know, for seeing that all the multinational brands which came out with skincare line over the years have always given this narrative that one size fits all.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_02: But when it comes to skin of color, with actually treating patients in our clinic, we've noticed that that's not true.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_02: The the signs of aging when it comes to skin of color are really different.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_02: They are uneven skin tone, patchiness, dullness, pigmentation, dark spots.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_02: But the narrative has always been, you know, look for fine lines and wrinkles.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_02: You know, they do come up, but they're always, you know, late.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_02: They don't come up so early when it comes to skin of color.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_02: You know, in our practice, uh, we tried to educate almost everyone who came, middle-aged patients, slightly older ones, you know, young people as well.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_02: And the main thing which they were scared about was, Doctor, what should I do for my early signs of aging, which is fine lines and wrinkles?
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_02: And as the consultation started, they used to talk about patchiness, dullness, and pigmentation.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_02: But they were really worried about what was fine lines and wrinkles.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, that's where we felt that this has been a lot of misguidance over the years when it comes to signs of aging, when it comes to skin of color.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_02: And then actually, when our own daughter, who's 23 now, two years back, she asked us one day, you know, at home that uh dad, what can I do to prevent fine lines and wrinkles?
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_02: And I was like, Gaudi, you know, this is here, we are trying to educate one person at a time.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_02: But our own daughter in our house is asking us this.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_02: So we need to do something which is for people at large, just you know, you know, educating one person at a time won't do.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_02: And that's where we really thought that we should get down and start some skincare line, which not only talks about skin of color treatments, but also actually acts when it comes to the unique needs of skin of color.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_03: Right.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, no, that really speaks to me uh very, you know, heavily because I think that it's a space that's not addressed at all, you know, in the right way, in my opinion.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, I think that I mean, Dr.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_03: Gori, I I would love for you to actually chime in as well, you know, on the question before I I start ranting, but yeah.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you, thanks.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_01: Uh so like Abhijit has been saying, you know, we've been in practice uh for over two decades each.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_01: And while he is a dermatologist, I'm a trained pathologist, and I have studied skin, you know, kind of I like to say that he looks at it from outside in and I look at it from inside out with background knowledge of what melanin actually looks like, what the other differences are, other than the fact that we have melanin, how the other layers of skin differ a little bit, how much collagen and elastin is there, how the you know, cell thickness is, all of that.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_01: So, as a team, when we uh you know we've been working in clear in clinic together, we've realized that there are differences in the signs of aging or in the chronology of that because of these actual anatomical, you know, differences at a microscopic level.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: So that's how you know something that uh we decided that not just teaching people, but there needs to be something available for people to pick up off the counter, right?
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_01: Because everybody cannot go to a dermatologist and get a one-on-one uh session.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: So that's where we decided that you know we need to be sure that there are products that are actually formulated, keeping in mind the needs of brown skin and keeping brown skin at the center while developing so that there is, you know, other than corrective treatments, which there are a fair few available, but creating an awareness of prevention and you know how to delay these signs like dullness, like patchy pigmentation, like uneven tone, dark spots which appear.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, I think for that reason we actually came up with the brand.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: And uh even as we were, you know, discussing names and stuff, uh, I think brown kind, the name kind of you know sums up what we really wanted to do.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_01: You know, brown is our skin tone, you know, the people that we want to cater to.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: And kind is about actually showing kindness to our skin, not using harsh products, using effective ingredients that are still gentle and do the work slowly.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_01: And within the word brown kind is OWN, which is own.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: It is for owning our tone, for owning everything that it stands for, you know, the resilience, the strength that we all one way or the other kind of uh come with, you know, all of the brown community.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that kind of sums up what we really intended to do.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_03: I love that.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_03: That's such a powerful message, too.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, I think, you know, in the world we live in now, we look at I think darker skin tones.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_03: And and please tell me like if you disagree, but I I the way I see it, you know, we look at brown skin tones and we think there's just one problem, you know, that they're dealing with.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_03: Like I can't tell you guys how many times, you know, I'm not a dermatologist, but I get asked this question.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_03: And there people tell me, well, yeah, hyperpigmentation is the main problem, right?
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_03: And I'm like, no, there's so many other, there's so many other things, you know.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_03: It's not yeah, it's it's one, it's not just one thing and one size fits all, as Dr.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_03: Gorey said.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, it's it's really about this versatility that comes with brown skin tones.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, we have so many shades to think about, and we have so many different variations of like melanin concentrations in those skin tones.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_03: Like, I don't know how our industry is kind of has overlooked it for so long, you know, in the sense that yes, there are products out there that are like, you know, focused on hyperpigmentation, which is great to me.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, as a consumer, I look at them and say, yeah, okay, we need that.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_03: But at the same time, I think Dr.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_03: you mentioned this.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, you know, there's other options as well.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_03: Like there's things like, well, uneven skin tone, you know, that might not be hyperpigmentation.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_03: It might be just blotchiness to our skin, you know, that we want to kind of mitigate and and and improve.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_03: And so it's it's really a conversation I think that needs to be had, you know, in this space, because I haven't really heard much about anything other than hyperpigmentation.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_03: So yeah, it's very fascinating for me.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_03: And I would love to actually ask you guys, you know, when you were looking at the formulation aspects of the brand, I mean, what were some of the ingredients or maybe even the theories that you were really looking at, you know, in terms of targeting these skin concerns?
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, where did the process begin for you in terms of making a list of this is what we're trying to target?
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_02: I think I think Gauri, I think Gauri, I always say that no, Gauri is the core to this, you know.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_02: So I think Gaury, you can take this because this is your research of ingredients and things like that.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, like I was uh saying when we were talking earlier, the the intent was to have ingredients that are gentle because these are going to be picked up off the shelves by everybody.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_01: And there isn't anyone, you know, kind of a trained person to really supervise the uh use of it and you know how much you apply for how long you apply.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: Do you go out in the sun after applying something and whether that makes a difference?
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_01: So we needed something that was safe across larger groups of people and yet effective.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that's where our basic kind of uh you know research started.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_01: This all of this I think happened during the pandemic when the you know clinics were shut and we had some time on hand.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_01: So it's taken uh like over, I think, two, two and a half years for us to actually come up with the formulations.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_01: We used some you know ingredients that come from even ancient forms of medicine, like our even tone defender formula, which is a part of all of our ingredients, actually has Amla, Philanthus Emblica, which has been used in traditional Indian medicine for like over 5,000 years, I think.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_01: But in addition to that, it also has modern research.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_01: You know, there are papers that vouch for its effectiveness, for uh, you know, the level of antioxidants that it has, for the vitamin C that it provides.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_01: So there is modern medicine research also done on it.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_01: We also have rainbow algae as a part of our uh Eventone Defender formula, which again is something that is more of a new age ingredient because marine uh products are still being, you know, they're still new, but again, it's something that has been studied and more and more studies are still coming through.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_01: So we've just made sure that all of the ingredients that we use have scientific backing because I feel like you know, trends we felt would come and go, but science always stays, yeah.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_01: You know, so we need something that is backed by science.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_02: I think that is basically Yeah, that's that's basically the even-toned defender formula, which as Gavri mentioned runs across all our products, so in various concentrations, whether it is the Indian gooseberry, whether it is the brown algae, whether it is the the the cacao, everything runs across all brown kind products.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_03: Wow.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_03: No, that's really cool because I I think that you know it's interesting to see what ingredients are used in in products that are geared towards you know evening out skin tone because there we only hear about one thing, and I I'll be honest with you, you know, for me it's always tarosinase inhibitors.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_03: That's all I hear about.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_03: So it's very fascinating to hear that there is a lot of different ingredients that work very beautifully.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_03: And and I mean, I love your products, personally speaking.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_03: I've been using them and I really, really enjoy their obviously the yeah, no, I I really enjoy them, and I think that they're not only enjoyable, but like the fact that they are so efficacious and they're working on a deeper level.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, that's that's the main thing that consumers right now they need, you know, because at the end of the day, like your skincare has to work for you.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_03: I'm a huge advocate for this, you know, and I think all of us are in the sense that skincare is part of this beauty community, but like it's so much more.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_03: It's a medical, you know, there's a integration with medicine here, obviously, you know, and so there needs to be efficacy in our products that are geared towards darker skin tones.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_03: And so your products are, you know, they're really heavy-hitting products.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_03: And so I really I love them.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_03: I would I would love to discuss though, you know, in terms of like your own your opinions, you know, in terms of representation of, you know, darker skin tones.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_03: What have you seen in in your practice?
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, what are some things that you think the industry might be doing wrong or or maybe could improve on when it comes to representing darker skin tones better and the space and dermatology overall?
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_02: I think you know, what I've been seeing over these years that what is missing is actually the knowledge, the knowledge of what does it actually mean to be brown or skin of color or melanin to skin?
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_02: All these terminologies are existing for quite some time now.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_02: But when I actually talk to patients, when I actually talk to people, they genuinely don't know what it means to be brown, what it means to be melanin-rich.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_02: How does a melanin act for them?
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_02: What are the good things which melanin brings to the table?
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_02: What are the precautions they need to take about melanin?
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_02: So I think that's predominantly missing, which I see.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_02: As as you just now you mentioned, even Gauri mentioned, there are products for treatment, there are products for corrective measures.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_02: But when it comes to preservation of skin tone, when it comes to prevention, how does this melanin act?
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_02: You know, because always as growing up, you've always been told not to go out in the sun, you'll get darker and things like that.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_02: So people know about this, but people don't know about that.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_02: The same melanin, okay, actually prevents you from the fine lines and wrinkles.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_02: Actually, they come much later, but they also don't know that, you know, when they go out in the sun, they don't see inflammation because in our skin, the darker skin, the inflammation is not visible, but it doesn't mean that the inflammation is not there.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, all these things are are not that easily known by people who want to use these products.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_02: So I think the knowledge is missing, and once this knowledge starts spreading, the awareness starts spreading, I think people know how to, you know, take care of their darker skin.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_01: Correct.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_01: I think to add to what Abhijit has been saying, you know, when I discuss early signs of aging in uh skin of color, I usually like to give everybody the example of a peach and a pear, you know, where a peach can be likened to white skin and a pear to skin of color or brown skin.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, as a peach or ripens, um, the skin starts wrinkling first, you know, and becomes a little creepy.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_01: And that's how white skin will, you know, start showing early signs of aging.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_01: Whereas if you look at a pear, then as that is ripening, it starts developing these spots, and they sometimes, you know, coalesce and become slightly bigger brown patches.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_01: And then much later when the fruit is overripening, do you actually start noticing fine wrinkling on the skin?
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_01: And this actually is exactly how brown skin would age.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_01: So uneven tone, the dullness, the patchiness, dark spots, they would all come earlier.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_01: And then would you get fine lines and much later rink, actual, you know, deep wrinkles.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_01: So I feel like you know, that used to resonate a lot with our patients and people that I used to speak to.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_01: That, you know, every time you look at a peach and a pear, just understand how your skin's needs are different because you're just a different kind of fruit.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, no, I like that analogy a lot.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_03: It's it's really easy to comprehend, and I I really like it.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, I think that, you know, there's a lot of misconception as well, as far as like melanin-rich skin.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, I think we do get a lot of questions about, you know, what are the differences between darker skin tones and lighter skin tones?
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_03: And I know that we discussed some here, you know, that like I had brought up the hyperpigmentation, but also when it comes to, you know, I want to ask this question because for our listeners, when it comes to things like sebum production and oil production, you know, I've always heard that, you know, darker skin tones run more oily, they have more needs for like, you know, just more mattifying products or things that can help control that sebum production.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_03: I would I just want to clarify this, Dr.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_03: Abijita, if you could shed some light on this.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, are is there a true difference there that you've noticed in your patients as far as this component, you know, or what's the real thing?
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_02: Actually, honestly, very, very much.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, it is a scientific thing that the darker skin tones are inherently more oil compared to the to the much lighter of the Caucasian skin tones.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_02: So that's why this problem of excessive oil production, sebum, and that's the reason why, you know, over the years we have been advising in our practice, and that's what we have carried on in our products as well, that to keep the products lighter, to keep the product, you know, lightweight, because anything which is heavier can clog the pores, and once again you get the same, you know, breakouts and zits and things like that.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_02: So inherently, the skin of darker skin tone is much oilier.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, at the same time, I think what we've been noticing is that as the skin ages, at a point it suddenly starts becoming dry.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_01: So then people end up using heavier moisturizers because they think that now you know they're facing dry skin.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_01: But then, because of that, kind of uh, you know, because the skin is prone to become oily, sometimes it's suddenly because you've applied a heavier product, starts becoming oily again, like a rebound oiliness thing.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, it's a little tricky.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_01: So we always ensure that our patients try and use lighter products uh more number of times, ones that kind of get easily absorbed into the skin and don't just stay on feeling sticky, you know.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_01: Moisturizing has to be providing hydration to the skin, not only preventing evaporation.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_01: Preventing evaporation is one aspect, but it should provide hydration for which it needs to get absorbed, not just stay on top of the skin feeling slick.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_03: No, I think that's a really, really solid point, Dr.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_03: Gory.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_03: I I noticed that as well, that you know, as winter comes around and you know, we're getting into the the drier, colder months now, you know, we are seeing a lot more products that are just they're heavier, you know, they're like a lot of like kind of like night creams almost.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, I see a lot of those, you know, kind of coming up and and people really gravitate towards that and and they want to have this like heavier routine during the drier months.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_03: But I mean, you have to understand your skin, I think, you know, at the end of it, it it really does boil down to what we were saying earlier.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, the education component where you have to look at your skin as a consumer and say, what do I need?
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_03: You know, it doesn't matter if it's like November or December, you know, do I need that really heavy moisturizer or do I just need maintenance care as I've been doing all year round?
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_03: So for all the listeners out there, I really encourage you guys to kind of take that step back and then you know reconsider before you make like impulsive decisions to switch your you know products or whatever it is, you know, in terms of heavier, heavier solutions.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_03: So I I'm a I'm a huge believer in that.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_03: I know I've made that mistake before as well.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_03: So definitely fall into that.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_02: Everybody has it.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_02: That's why I feel that you know, the more and more awareness, the more and more knowledge spreads about how the skin of color is actually.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_02: And I think I think these problems will be solved by many.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_03: I agree.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_03: And you know, I wanna I want to actually bring this up because you're both so you're knowledgeable in this area.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_03: And I I think this is a great time to have a conversation about this.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_03: Is I know that in air like certain parts of the world, especially like you know, I know India, like being Indian myself, like we know this, it's a big part of you know, just knowing this about the community, that there is a uh issue of like with like skin lightening creams, you know, in certain parts of the world.
• 20:02
  SPEAKER_03: I know a lot of African consumers also have, you know, said that this is also a big component.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, I want to spread some awareness about why we should not be doing that, you know, because I still see like consumers now, like, you know, influencers or whatever on social media, and they're talking about like these skin lightning creams, these lightning products.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_03: And I would love for you both to just share some wisdom here for listeners that might fall into that category because I think there's so much misinformation, and they're almost like these products are marketed in a predatory way, you know, for people to like because you know, as we've been discussing this whole time, hyperpigmentation, all of these problems that come with dark and darker skin types, I think they leave consumers in a place of feeling like we don't have options, you know, and that we don't have anything made for us.
• 20:52
  SPEAKER_03: And so we resort to these really kind of, I think, polarized methods to try to fix those problems, but it's it's wrong and it's unhealthy.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_03: And I'd love to just take a minute to address that and talk about it, if you don't mind, and just share some opinions.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_01: Of course.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_01: I think, like you mentioned, you know, people with South Indian heritage, uh, South Asian heritage have actually at different times heard about bleaching agents, fairness, creams, all of that.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_01: Like you said, because of this cultural uh kind of thing towards you know affinity for having light skin.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: What people need to understand is that uh we are brown because of varying amounts of melanin pigment in our skin, and we are genetically built to produce that melanin, you know.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_01: So you you're not going to be able to really change the genetics by applying a facial cream and lightening it.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_01: What is more important is like we've been discussing all this while that as we age, we notice that there are changes in tone and you know there is uneven.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: Tone coming in, which again is something that automatically reflects on the age of the skin.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_01: And so if you would just maintain skin health and instead of bleaching, of course, when you have some patchy areas of hyperpigmentation, you might need to treat those particular areas.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_01: But that even tone, once it you know, is preserved or once it is even after correction, once it sets in, that is something which reflects healthy skin.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_01: So I feel there is a change, there is a need to kind of create this awareness so that we break this, you know, myth of fair being good.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, I think fairness as a part of Eurocentric ideals of beauty is something that we have all been looking at.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of the community that we discuss as brown has been under some or the other white-skin colonial rule, which is where you know white would be kind of the preferred color and you would blend in with the rulers, kind of probably also said came.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_01: You know, that is probably somewhere that that's set in.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_01: So I think it's time to break that whole narrative.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_01: And I think it will only come when we educate people about what it means to have melanin-rich skin, that it is not a particular shade of brown, nor is it a particular amount of melanin, you know.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_01: So I think, yeah, I think for sure we've always maintained in our uh clinical practice that you know, even toned skin is healthy and it automatically has a certain radiance about it, and one ought to just preserve that rather than you know going for any kind of bleaching uh.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely, absolutely, because at the end of the day, people have to understand that skin is the largest organ, like any other organ which we give a lot of importance to in our body.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_02: Skin as an organ needs to be really preserved.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_02: Skin health is the most important thing, and healthy skin is the glowing skin.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_02: So there is no two ways about it.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_02: And I think I think the newer generation, the younger generation is definitely understanding this, and and we are seeing a lot of people now really understanding and wanting to become more even-toned, to have healthy skin rather than you know, the earlier generation, which was, as Gauri mentioned, which had a little colonial mindset which was deep-rooted in our upbringing and all that, uh, you know, to be fair as a skin tone, but now it's not there.
• 24:26
  SPEAKER_02: And I think this is just the beginning, and it will get better and better as we go on.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_03: Yeah, thank you both so much for sharing your viewpoints on this.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_03: I think it's very, very important for us to openly discuss these topics because I just don't see enough education out there.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_03: And I and I agree.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_03: I think that it's it's definitely hopefully it's going away in the sense that, you know, I'm a millennial, so I know I saw it a lot, you know, growing up.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_03: And I don't, I'm hoping that it's not as prevalent anymore because it's just it's sad to see that, you know, especially when it comes to like younger, younger individuals, you know, young adults, they're them resorting to anything that's going to harm them in any way, you know, that always like kind of is very sad to see.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_03: So I would hate to see people still using any kind of products like that.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_03: But I want to actually shift focus a little bit and talk about the actual products that Brown Kind has.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_03: You guys have such a beautiful lineup.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_03: Um I'm a huge fan of everything, but I would love to talk about the SP app specifically because it's such a good product and so good for darker skin tones.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_03: So, Dr.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_03: Gory, maybe you could tell us about like the formulation of this product specifically because it's just so wonderful.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_03: I really love it.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, thank you.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_01: With the SPF product, that is again something that you know, through our years of practice, we've been talking to all of our patients who come in and we are big advocates of sun protection.
• 25:48
  SPEAKER_01: And everybody uh used to have a problem using SPF.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_01: That was because of the white cast that it used to leave, you know.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I feel like listening to people and with newer technology coming out, with newer you know, availability of various techniques of putting stuff in together, I would like to say, it is now possible to make sunscreens that don't leave a white cast.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_01: And if they don't leave a white cast, then you know it just makes it that much easier for people to start using it because, like I said, I that used to be one of the main barriers for people to start using an SPF.
• 26:25
  SPEAKER_01: So I think when we were formulating the product, we were ensuring that we're using, you know, sun filters that are approved by the FDA in proportions that are approved, but at the same time, keeping the rest of the formulation as light as we could, because again, going back to our earlier conversation, skin of color tends to have excess oiliness at some or the other point.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_01: So to keep something that is, you know, to keep an SPF product that is light that you can layer on top of a moisturizer if required and will still not leave you feeling greasy and heavy and clogged.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_01: And at the same time, to not leave a white cast.
• 27:05
  SPEAKER_01: So I think we had a lot of specifications to give when we were getting the product formulated.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_01: And then we also got the SPF checked by third-party labs and ensured that the SPF uh level that we were looking at was actually translating into, you know, laboratory results, not just our observations.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_01: We tried it with a few of our patients.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_01: So I think, yeah, that was the whole process of coming up with the SPF.
• 27:31
  SPEAKER_02: You know, actually, as Gavri mentioned, and I must say this, and I must thank all our patients as they have been our actual teachers.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_02: It is the patients over the years who have taught us what they like, what they don't like, what is the difficulty, how if something like this would have come, it would have been better.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_02: And all that teachings which we got from them, we were able to put this into our formulations.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_02: So I would definitely like to acknowledge a lot of learning which you have got from our from our patients.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's been really great learning and a lot of insights from all of our interviewer people.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely patients.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_03: That's I love that.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_03: I love that you guys have really, you know, kind of formulated things in a way that is it resonates with actual people.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_03: You know, I think brands sometimes miss that step, you know, where they're not really talking to people before.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_03: And obviously, I mean, you you have this wonderful community at your, you know, at your fingertips by talking to your patients and learning from them.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_03: I mean, I think a lot of times it that homework isn't done, you know, prior to creating products.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_03: So I really appreciate that about your brand.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_03: And I I think that it's just such a wonderful option.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_03: I really encourage everyone tuning in if you are somebody that's looking for efficacious and true options, you know, for just darker skin tones or just in general.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_03: I think the products are great for everybody, honestly.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_03: And, you know, I I've been loving them.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_03: Like they're very lightweight, they're very easy to incorporate into your routine.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_03: This is a huge recommendation, you know, from our end for you to check brownkind out.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_03: You can go to brownkind.com to really check out the brand, look at all the offerings.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_03: But I really encourage anybody out there that's been struggling to find the right fit for you because maybe you know your SPF has a white cast or whatever the reason is, really check out the brand.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_03: It's a beautiful, beautiful option.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_03: But thank you both so much for coming onto the show and sharing so much knowledge with us.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_03: It's been truly a pleasure to host both of you and to learn from.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you very much.
• 29:24
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you very much for having us.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_02: And it's really, really it was nice and to talk to you about and trying to spread as much as awareness we can because we really believe in this.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_02: And I I feel that you know, at some day we wish that a movement will be started for the brown skin, you know, in terms of preservation of brown skin tone.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks, Ikta, for having us.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_01: I think it we're really honored that we would, you know, we are able to share our views on how and why we uh came up with brown kind.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_01: And I think we really hope that with all of the products that we have, which I've mentioned this before, all our the the our even tone defender complex runs through all of them, which helps in you know preserving the even skin tone and the radiance of skin.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_01: So I feel like that message that you know that is the key to preserving uh the youthful look of brown skin is something that yeah I was happy to be able to share.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_02: And actually, just you know, it actually represents almost four billion people in the world.
• 30:30
  SPEAKER_02: So, you know, it's for them for all of us to be seen and heard as the brown skin community is very important.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_03: I couldn't agree more.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_03: I think you know, it this is it's wonderful work that you're doing, and I think it's it's so needed, you know, and it to really make people feel like they're being heard and seen, you know, that is the most important thing, and and you guys are just really doing that.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_03: And I really applaud you for your work and the wonderful brand that you've created.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_03: So thank you from from the community.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_03: So thank you.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you, thank you so much.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_03: Hey guys, so I hope you love that episode.
• 31:06
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• 31:11
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• 31:14
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• 31:54
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• 32:06
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• 32:11
  SPEAKER_03: Thank you.