A few weeks ago I asked y’all about non-black influencers in the skin care space (based on a question from someone else’s tweet). Most of y’all didn’t follow any and the few you did mention were hyper visible. So then I intentionally started following non-black skinfluencers...

I chose to follow all licensed estheticians. They are overwhelmingly women and have pretty large presences/following on Instagram. Here is what I learned:

-IF they share knowledge they do so in a much more concise way
-Content priority is on sales/treatments

-Second priority is their lifestyle in the traditional influencer sense (branded partnerships with fashion retailers, local biz, things that aren’t skin-related)
-Stolen/uncredited content from black creators ()
-Scamming/illegal practices
-PRIVILEGE

The last one strikes a nerve because we all have the same licenses...

But did you know we are also completely shut out of access to a large number of professional products?

Just this past week alone I’ve seen SEVERAL estheticians who do not work for derms or have a medical director on staff selling “prescription” skin care. Prescription is in quotes because these companies tell US that their lines are for med pros only ().

It’s interesting.

The other interesting thing is the borrowing of not only our content but also the ways in which we talk about things online. It feels like a lot of them mimic the way Sean does social media (pics, captions, everything). So interesting.

Back to products real quick, some of these brands have revenue requirements (diff from MOQ). First of all, mind your biz. But second of all, LOL we often surpass the requirements so now what’s the excuse?

Anyway, the gag always ends in the “DM me for more info” lane.

And yet, never see anyone coming for them. It’s just all so interesting.