Greetings friends! I hope you find yourself well today. I, on the other hand, feel a bit peeved. I went shopping last night to pick up a new non-toxic foundation, but of course, I couldn’t find my shade. It annoyed me. Here I am, a woman of color with money to spend, and I can’t find one full coverage foundation on the shelves to match my tone. Not one. Then I stopped and looked around. Everyone in the store (with the exception of two employees) had fair or light skin. So why did I show up expecting an aisle full of beauty products with me in mind? Because I exist. I thought that was reason enough.

Of course I can’t blame a green beauty business for not creating a product just for lil ol’ me. So, I offer this question: where are the people of color in the health food store? Where are the thousands upon thousands of women of color demanding non-toxic beauty products? I know we are out there (because I know some of you personally), but we aren’t “out there” in the numbers I’d like to see. I want to see waves of olive, mocha and cocoa-skinned ladies in the beauty aisles at Whole Foods, Sprouts, etc. Is that too much to ask for people? Where ya’ll at?

One gripe I have with the “natural health” field is that a lot of healing practices (such as acupuncture, massage, herbal medicine or the use of essential oils) are just plain unknown (or inaccessible) to many of my peers. On one side of the room you have a group of people who want to be well but feel that health comes at too high of a price (or is reserved for “other people”). On the other side of the room, you have people scratching their heads wondering what the heck ashwagandha or milk thistle is, and why no one told them about herbs before. These people want better, but don’t know better.

On what day did we all forget how to study the earth and pluck from it the treasure of healing and vitality? Did the hippies scare everyone away from plants? I have my hippy moments, but I’m “enlightened” enough to realize this: plants are just plants. No need for magic, rituals, chanting, or anything “extra.” Plants heal — internally and externally. We should eat plants, love plants, and immerse our bodies in nature. The information is out there I know, but the demand for it is lacking. So who is to blame? Why are so many of my people comfortable with disease and illness? Don’t they know about the chemicals in the major brands? I don’t have an irrational fear of getting cancer from my lipstick, but if I know I have the option to choose products that won’t harm me, why would I not seek them out? If more people of color stood atop a mountain demanding wellness, I believe more green beauty businesses would include “us” in their branding and marketing meetings.

“If you’re so annoyed Candace, create your own line of makeup for dark skinned women and quit your belly-aching…” – if that crossed your mind, then you’ve missed my point entirely. Increasing supply while demand remains close to non-existent wouldn’t be a smart business move. (Or at least it doesn’t sound like it would be. I failed economics so I could be wrong.). I want to increase demand. Non-toxic beauty businesses and health food stores won’t find cause to speak to an audience of one, but I have cause. In me lives the desire (and means) to spark a flame in another. And that person will want to do the same. Person by person. Woman to woman. I know what I want to see will one day be.

The moral of this rant is to say: I want health and wellness (and chemical-free makeup) readily available to everyone. No matter your race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, level of mobility, or education level. But more than that, I want everyone (especially women of color) to want health and wellness. I know there are organic beauty companies that make foundations for my skin tone (thank you Gabriel Cosmetics!), or I wouldn’t have gone looking for it. The fact that I couldn’t find it on the shelf highlighted the possibility of a very real problem: women of color aren’t shopping for healthy cosmetics. And if this is true, what is the solution? Should non-toxic makeup for darker tones magically appear on the shelves in hopes that the demand will increase? Maybe, but it won’t happen that way. Education first. Awareness second. A voiced demand third. An increased selection of non-toxic beauty products for women of color — fourth. I know there is a lot of work to be done in this regard, which is why sharing what I know (and what I still don’t know) has become my growing online baby. And today, the baby is whining and needs a nap.

Until I see the change I want to see, I’ll keep pecking away at this keyboard, shouting from my little mountain on the West Coast. And apparently, shopping for foundation online.

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You can connect with Candace on her blog, forsheismorelovely.com