a call to action...

So I spent all day Sunday running around D.C. producing a photo shoot of skateboarder Darren Harper for SET Magazine. And can I just say, if every day of work could look like this... bring it on!

In addition to being super talented (among a bunch of other accolades/ affiliations, he's the first African American skater sponsored by Travis Barker's Stars & Straps clothing line), Darren has the most amazing skin and teeth I've seen on a non-model Black boy like, EVER. And something tells me that this kid (easy ladies, he's only 26 years old) who makes a living by spending his days rolling through the world on a damn board is so not the one for the expensive bath products.

Watching Darren for six hours (and yes, I got paid to peep him out) got me to thinking about the state of black men's skin. More specifically the recent string of guys with bad skin that I've come across recently.

Its 2008, why do you still have razor bumps? I get the whole curly hair conspiracy but how about you make sure you're using a clean blade to cut? I dated a professional barber for almost six years, and the first thing I learned was that half of all razor bumps are cause by dirty blades. Mmm-hmmm... And what's really good with the dry flaky skin? Ya'll just looking ashy all around the mouth and eyebrow area... My brothers, please stop acting like facial moisturizer (no, not your girl's hand lotion or mama's tub of Vaseline) is freaking kryptonite and handle that.

And do not get me started on all the folks with twisted, yellow, jumbled, rock biter mouths. You know what, when your teeth are wrecked, my natural thought process is to assume that your breath stinks. Uh-uh, I can't...

And you know what? You shouldn't want me to either.