I thank you from the bottom of my heart for writing this insightful, thought-provoking, and extremely relevant article that, in my opinion, isn't spoken of enough. I've definitely felt the affects of both feeling under-represented in the beauty industry as a Black woman, but equally disregarded by some in our own community as a darker-skinned woman. I jokingly tell my girlfriends if I had a dollar for each time a Black man told me, "You're pretty for a dark skin woman" I'd be Oprah...lol. It's a sad state of affairs indeed and had it not been for my mother who constantly affirmed not just outer but inner beauty, I might not have had the confidence to raise my own daughter with self-esteem. This article is incredible and I'd like to mention it in an article I'll be writing this weekend if you don't mind. Thank you so much for writing this.