Rachel Roff, founder of Urban Medspa and Weight Loss Center in Charlotte, NC, has witnessed the lack of industry knowledge and training for people of color first hand. “Darker skin tends to be more sensitive,” Roff explained to me in an interview with the beauty exec, “[and as I studied to further my beauty career], instructors were hesitant to practice on all races.”
It was this gaping hole in the marketplace that inspired Roff to open Urban Medspa. And after seeing the impact the company was making within the BIPOC community, Roff then decided to launch a clinical skincare line to further deliver on her promise to provide people of color with better ways to care for their skin.
As the self-proclaimed melanin experts, UrbanSkinRx’s products use high concentrations of active ingredients to focus on correcting hyperpigmentation resulting from things like acne scars, pregnancy or the skin-darkening condition melisma.
“We call ourselves the melanin experts because melanin is the pigment which causes the darkening of every human’s skin,” Roff told me. “The amount of melanin varies depending on the skin tone, so often, darker skin is more vulnerable to hyperpigmentation, or dark marks.” She went on to explain that since everyone produces melanin, we’re all susceptible to hyperpigmentation. “What sets [our brand] apart is that while we still create products for common concerns like aging and dry skin, we also concentrate our efforts on using ingredients that’ll correct hyperpigmentation—a widespread skin concern amongst people of color,” stated Roff.
