forblackdamsels

 Becky G. "Shower" had just dropped, and it was the first time I’d seen a celebrity with a gap tooth- like me. I had always loved my gap tooth, and despite not seeing it on TV often, I was never insecure about it either. There was nothing to be insecure about. It was just a space between the two front teeth, and it was pretty. However, while I still love my gap tooth, I've recently learned that there are many people out there who do not feel like dancing when they see their own gap tooth in the mirror. The Science of Gapped Teeth     Gapped teeth, the medical term being a diastema, is a gap or space that can be in between any two teeth.  The gap I'm specifically referring to in this post is the one that happens to be right between the upper two front teeth.      There are many different causes for this gap tooth, but it is not typically harmful. In fact, there is medical research out there supporting the idea that gap teeth can be hereditary, especiall...

 I was recently scrolling through TikTok when I came across a video of a young lady singing the praises of The Ordinary Niacinamide 10% serum and its effectiveness in combatting oily skin and dark spots. I believe it's safe to say that the majority of the comments on that video very much agreed with the creator's sentiment as words like "amazing", "sooo good", and "blessing" appeared on my screen. However, among the hay, I managed to find the needle- a very important needle for those with more melanin in their skin: "bad for POC". This got me thinking.  While TikTok is a wonderful (and questionably accurate) source of information, I decided to personally investigate why our melanated skin is so different and what products work- at least in my case. Time for Class!      Melanin is usually found in the outer layer of our skin: the epidermis. It is a large group of molecules that perform different functions such as pigmenting our skin and ha...