“I was an active child—always outdoors—and a bit ‘rough and tumble’!” Being a brown skinned girl, when my skin got dry (which was not uncommon!) it looked dry and ashy. In our community, we used the word ashen to describe dry, scaly, ashy skin. My elbows, knees, and feet were more often ashy, and during those childhood years my mom taught me the importance of moisturizing my skin to keep it well hydrated, soft, and glowing—and not looking ashy!

“She would give me a tube of cream, a dollop of cocoa butter or a bottle of lotion and say, ‘Put it on those legs!’ Then she told me, “Your skin may not mean much to you now, but one day you will care about how it looks.” And, of course, mom was right.

“One of my earliest and fondest memories of beauty was my mom applying lipstick. My mom never wore a lot of makeup (I didn’t need it!), but she almost always painted her lips, usually some magical shade of red or burgundy. I remember watching her stand at her dressing table and apply these satiny, transformative, utterly captivating shades to her lips. I thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world and couldn’t wait until I was old enough to wear lipstick too. I like red lipstick today.”

—Raechele Cochran Gathers, MD, board-certified dermatologist and founder MDhairmixtress.com