August 8, 2025 • 8 mins
For years, skincare shelves have been filled with products catering to a narrow spectrum of skin tones, leaving those with melanin-rich skin struggling to find solutions that truly work. Dr. Gauri Desai, a seasoned pathologist and her husband, Dr. Abhijit Desai, an expert in aesthetic dermatology are shaking up the skincare world with Brownkind, a brand designed specifically for people with brown skin. Black and brown skin behave differently and is more prone to uneven pigmentation, dryness, and irritation that can be masked by darker tones. Brownkind is a movement they created after years of seeing patients frustrated with skincare products that didn’t address their unique concerns. With a mission rooted in inclusivity and education, the doctors are all about celebrating brown skin—not fixing it. They are busting myths and helping people move their skincare routine from summer to fall just as they change their wardrobe!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I er hello, and good morning doctors. How are you
guys doing today? Oh?
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Very well, thank you, very well, thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
This is such a great time to be talking about
our skin because there's some stuff going down. Every time
I turn around, someone is telling me they've got skin
problems or they've got cancer, and it's like, what are
we doing wrong?
Speaker 3 (00:18):
It has to do with a lot of things. And
one of the preventive things that we do have is
to take care of our skin better and to make
sure that we use enough sun protection. One in the
form of actual physical protection like wearing you know, wearing
your hat, wearing visors if necessary if you're going to
(00:38):
be out in the sun, but also making sure that
on a regular basis you use a good sunscreen suitable
for your skin type and use it diligently every day
of the year.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Yeah, and combine it with eating healthy, nutritious diet. All
these as a combination will work very well together.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
One of the things that I've noticed is that people
are you know, where they have the different cancers or
they're having problems, is in areas of your skin that
we can't see, for instance, on our back in different
area or even up in our forehead, underneath our hair.
It's almost like it's playing a game with us. How
can we make sure that we look at everything that
could be going wrong with our skin?
Speaker 3 (01:21):
You know?
Speaker 2 (01:21):
The you're right, it can present in different places which
sometimes can be missed. So the thing is that if
anybody observes any unusual growth on anything on the skin,
notices that the best thing is to get a professional
expert advice on that, get it diagnosed, properly checked it
(01:42):
so that you can, you know, tackle it very early
in life rather than being ignorant about it.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Yeah. Now our darker skin people, do they have to
have the sun block and stuff or is it one
of those things where it's like everybody should be using sunscreen.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
Yes, you're right, everybody should be using sunscreen for two reasons.
One people think that it's all about cancer, but in
addition to protection against cancers, it's also about dealaying the
signs of aging, and that is something that with all
of our longevity now, all of us want to look
our best and if we want to delay the signs
(02:19):
of aging, then using a sunscreen is our best bet.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Is there such a thing as washing yourself too much?
In other words, washing your face and your arms too much,
because you know people their skin dries out, and that
to me is like, oh something's up.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Oh yes, as you rightly said, washing too much actually
doesn't help. You need to wash it regularly, but ensure
that you are not doing it too much to strip
the barrier of the skin. So yes, do it once
or twice, ay, twice a day is good enough unless
you've had a really long day and there's a lot
of grain and dirt on your body. But otherwise washing
(02:54):
it with gentle cleansers which don't strip the barrier of
your skin, that would be the best.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
Is there anything that we can do to protect our skin?
And one of the things I'm here in the South,
so to me, people down here in the South tend
to age a lot quicker in the face, that is right.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
And that is usually because of excessive sun exposure, which
is why we keep advocating the use of sunscreens, because
the UV rays from the sun actually degrade the collagen
and they actually cause damage to the cellular DNA and
that is what causes early aging. And the signs of aging,
(03:34):
of course, are different based on the kind of skin
that you have. So while white skin will show fine
lines and drinkles early on. Melanated skin will actually show
issues like uneven pigmentation, dull skin, patchy areas of pigmentation,
all of that early on. And you want to know
what to look out for when you're talking about early aging.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Please do not move. There's more with doctor Gaurri and
abajeit coming up next. We're talking about having healthy skin
with doctor Gurri and doctor Abajet. Well, even at sixty three,
I'm starting to see my skin color change. Is that
completely normal? Because I mean I'm not as you know,
you know, white skin like I used to be. Now
there's all different types of colors on there.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
Yes, discoloration or raw pigmentation issues are definitely part of
aging like I mentioned before. However, skin with melanin usually
shows these signs of color issues and hyperpigmentation early on,
whereas individuals with white skin type would show these signs
(04:43):
later on post the appearance of wrinkles.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
So what is melon rich skin that's brand new to me?
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Oh so, melanin rich skin is basically as you all
note as brown skin or skin of color, or it's
basically the pigment melanin which is present in our skin
that gives us this color, which is a pigment present
in our hair as well. When it comes to brown
skin type, the melanin is a lot more as compared
to the Caucasian skin type, and it's a different type
(05:13):
of melanin which doesn't degrade that early. So melanin rich
skin is the entire spectrum of round from the light
end of the spectrum to the darken and that amounts
to almost four billion of the world's population.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
If you guys weren't talking about skincare and really kind
of helping people understand their own skin, who would be
talking about this? Because this is something a subject that
just doesn't come up in your family circles. How can
we get people to start talking more about the health
of their skin.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
I think we need to understand ourselves first of all,
that skin is an organ, and yes we are different.
We do have different colored skin because of the presence
of the pigment melanin, and we ought to understand why
does different is and what other kind of differences arise
(06:04):
because of that. And once we have an understanding of this,
then I think the whole conversation will begin about different
kinds of skin and what they need, what their requirements are,
and how to go about getting products that are suitable
for those requirements.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
How many different styles of skin do we have on
this body, because my hands have skin, but it's not
like the skin that's on my face, which is not
like the skin on my shoulders.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
So that is actually just a difference that occurs because
of different levels of exposure to the environment on various
parts of the body, and also various parts of the
body have slight amount of differences in the thickness or
thinness of the skin, or you know, different kind of
organelles within the skin, like hair follicles and sweat glands
(06:49):
and other things that are different. But when we talk
about different kinds of skin, what we are referring to
is actually skinned which has a lot of U melanine
pig in it, which gives it that brown color. And
along with having that pigment, this kind of skin also
has more number of thicker kind of layers in the
(07:10):
skin and the more amount of collagen, which is arranged
in a compact manner because of which skin of color
actually shows signs of aging like wrinkles very late, yep,
But it does show a lot of issues with pigmentation.
Early on.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
I always tell people I have radio station people skin,
And what I mean by that is I can't put
a shovel in my hand or a hammer without getting blisters.
It's like, why is my skin so thin?
Speaker 3 (07:39):
I don't know. Maybe it is actually just bad because
very often what happens is that as you overuse any part,
there are changes happening in the cellular level in that area.
And like you just mentioned, if you actually held a
hammer and a chisel and went about it, if that
was a part of your occupation every day, then the
skin there would get a little ticker, and then you
(08:01):
would not get visitors so easily. So that's something that
comes with the daily use of certain parts of your body.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Where can people go to find out more about everything
that you guys are doing, because this is not just
an end of the summer conversation. This is we should
be talking about this all the time.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Oh, they can visit our website brownkind dot com or
they can follow us on our Instagram, brown Kind Skin,
and we would love to have DM from them so
that we can unswert any of their querits.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
If they have, well, please come back to the show.
Anytime in the future. The door is always going to
be open for you too.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
Doctors, thank you very much for having us so much.
It was a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
Will you be brilliant today?
Speaker 3 (08:36):
Okay, thank you, Thank you so much.
I er hello, and good morning doctors. How are you
guys doing today? Oh?
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Very well, thank you, very well, thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
This is such a great time to be talking about
our skin because there's some stuff going down. Every time
I turn around, someone is telling me they've got skin
problems or they've got cancer, and it's like, what are
we doing wrong?
Speaker 3 (00:18):
It has to do with a lot of things. And
one of the preventive things that we do have is
to take care of our skin better and to make
sure that we use enough sun protection. One in the
form of actual physical protection like wearing you know, wearing
your hat, wearing visors if necessary if you're going to
(00:38):
be out in the sun, but also making sure that
on a regular basis you use a good sunscreen suitable
for your skin type and use it diligently every day
of the year.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Yeah, and combine it with eating healthy, nutritious diet. All
these as a combination will work very well together.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
One of the things that I've noticed is that people
are you know, where they have the different cancers or
they're having problems, is in areas of your skin that
we can't see, for instance, on our back in different
area or even up in our forehead, underneath our hair.
It's almost like it's playing a game with us. How
can we make sure that we look at everything that
could be going wrong with our skin?
Speaker 3 (01:21):
You know?
Speaker 2 (01:21):
The you're right, it can present in different places which
sometimes can be missed. So the thing is that if
anybody observes any unusual growth on anything on the skin,
notices that the best thing is to get a professional
expert advice on that, get it diagnosed, properly checked it
(01:42):
so that you can, you know, tackle it very early
in life rather than being ignorant about it.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
Yeah. Now our darker skin people, do they have to
have the sun block and stuff or is it one
of those things where it's like everybody should be using sunscreen.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
Yes, you're right, everybody should be using sunscreen for two reasons.
One people think that it's all about cancer, but in
addition to protection against cancers, it's also about dealaying the
signs of aging, and that is something that with all
of our longevity now, all of us want to look
our best and if we want to delay the signs
(02:19):
of aging, then using a sunscreen is our best bet.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
Is there such a thing as washing yourself too much?
In other words, washing your face and your arms too much,
because you know people their skin dries out, and that
to me is like, oh something's up.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
Oh yes, as you rightly said, washing too much actually
doesn't help. You need to wash it regularly, but ensure
that you are not doing it too much to strip
the barrier of the skin. So yes, do it once
or twice, ay, twice a day is good enough unless
you've had a really long day and there's a lot
of grain and dirt on your body. But otherwise washing
(02:54):
it with gentle cleansers which don't strip the barrier of
your skin, that would be the best.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
Is there anything that we can do to protect our skin?
And one of the things I'm here in the South,
so to me, people down here in the South tend
to age a lot quicker in the face, that is right.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
And that is usually because of excessive sun exposure, which
is why we keep advocating the use of sunscreens, because
the UV rays from the sun actually degrade the collagen
and they actually cause damage to the cellular DNA and
that is what causes early aging. And the signs of aging,
(03:34):
of course, are different based on the kind of skin
that you have. So while white skin will show fine
lines and drinkles early on. Melanated skin will actually show
issues like uneven pigmentation, dull skin, patchy areas of pigmentation,
all of that early on. And you want to know
what to look out for when you're talking about early aging.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
Please do not move. There's more with doctor Gaurri and
abajeit coming up next. We're talking about having healthy skin
with doctor Gurri and doctor Abajet. Well, even at sixty three,
I'm starting to see my skin color change. Is that
completely normal? Because I mean I'm not as you know,
you know, white skin like I used to be. Now
there's all different types of colors on there.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
Yes, discoloration or raw pigmentation issues are definitely part of
aging like I mentioned before. However, skin with melanin usually
shows these signs of color issues and hyperpigmentation early on,
whereas individuals with white skin type would show these signs
(04:43):
later on post the appearance of wrinkles.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
So what is melon rich skin that's brand new to me?
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Oh so, melanin rich skin is basically as you all
note as brown skin or skin of color, or it's
basically the pigment melanin which is present in our skin
that gives us this color, which is a pigment present
in our hair as well. When it comes to brown
skin type, the melanin is a lot more as compared
to the Caucasian skin type, and it's a different type
(05:13):
of melanin which doesn't degrade that early. So melanin rich
skin is the entire spectrum of round from the light
end of the spectrum to the darken and that amounts
to almost four billion of the world's population.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
If you guys weren't talking about skincare and really kind
of helping people understand their own skin, who would be
talking about this? Because this is something a subject that
just doesn't come up in your family circles. How can
we get people to start talking more about the health
of their skin.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
I think we need to understand ourselves first of all,
that skin is an organ, and yes we are different.
We do have different colored skin because of the presence
of the pigment melanin, and we ought to understand why
does different is and what other kind of differences arise
(06:04):
because of that. And once we have an understanding of this,
then I think the whole conversation will begin about different
kinds of skin and what they need, what their requirements are,
and how to go about getting products that are suitable
for those requirements.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
How many different styles of skin do we have on
this body, because my hands have skin, but it's not
like the skin that's on my face, which is not
like the skin on my shoulders.
Speaker 3 (06:28):
So that is actually just a difference that occurs because
of different levels of exposure to the environment on various
parts of the body, and also various parts of the
body have slight amount of differences in the thickness or
thinness of the skin, or you know, different kind of
organelles within the skin, like hair follicles and sweat glands
(06:49):
and other things that are different. But when we talk
about different kinds of skin, what we are referring to
is actually skinned which has a lot of U melanine
pig in it, which gives it that brown color. And
along with having that pigment, this kind of skin also
has more number of thicker kind of layers in the
(07:10):
skin and the more amount of collagen, which is arranged
in a compact manner because of which skin of color
actually shows signs of aging like wrinkles very late, yep,
But it does show a lot of issues with pigmentation.
Early on.
Speaker 1 (07:27):
I always tell people I have radio station people skin,
And what I mean by that is I can't put
a shovel in my hand or a hammer without getting blisters.
It's like, why is my skin so thin?
Speaker 3 (07:39):
I don't know. Maybe it is actually just bad because
very often what happens is that as you overuse any part,
there are changes happening in the cellular level in that area.
And like you just mentioned, if you actually held a
hammer and a chisel and went about it, if that
was a part of your occupation every day, then the
skin there would get a little ticker, and then you
(08:01):
would not get visitors so easily. So that's something that
comes with the daily use of certain parts of your body.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
Where can people go to find out more about everything
that you guys are doing, because this is not just
an end of the summer conversation. This is we should
be talking about this all the time.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Oh, they can visit our website brownkind dot com or
they can follow us on our Instagram, brown Kind Skin,
and we would love to have DM from them so
that we can unswert any of their querits.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
If they have, well, please come back to the show.
Anytime in the future. The door is always going to
be open for you too.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
Doctors, thank you very much for having us so much.
It was a pleasure.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
Will you be brilliant today?
Speaker 3 (08:36):
Okay, thank you, Thank you so much.
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