Naomi Osaka launches skincare brand designed for people with melanated skin

Brand’s name KINLÒ pays homage to tennis star’s heritage, as both Kin and Lo mean ‘gold’ in Japanese and Haitian Creole, respectively

Naomi Osaka creates skincare line for people of colour (Getty Images)

Naomi Osaka has launched a functional skincare range designed for people with melanated skin.

The tennis pro, who also recently created an upcycled denim collaboration with Levi’s, launched her new brand KINLÒ on Tuesday.

According to the four-time Grand Slam tennis champion, she has been working on the brand for the past year, with the 23-year-old noting on Instagram that she decided to embrace the project after learning about the high rates of skin cancer-related deaths in people of colour.

“As a POC I started learning about skin cancer rates affecting people like me and wondered why there wasn’t a great product that feels good and protects our skin,” she wrote. “So I founded @kinloskin which is a functional skin care line for people with melanated skin.”

According to The Skin Cancer Foundation, the estimated five-year melanoma survival rate for Black people is only 67 per cent, while it is 92 per cent for white people.

On her Instagram, Osaka, who recently announced her intention to take some time off from tennis, then explained that she was able to create the skincare line because of her platform, for which she is grateful.

“Tennis can be challenging at times but it has given me this platform which I am so grateful for and allows me to help others in ways I wouldn’t have imagined otherwise,” she continued. “Hope you like it!”

According to a press release for the brand, the skincare company, which is composed of “active and recovery skincare products built to protect and rejuvenate melanated skin tones,” includes a mineral-based sunscreen designed to eliminate whitecast, which retails for $19.99, and a hydrating eye cream, which retails for $14.99, a hydrating golden mist and a lip balm.

The release also notes that Osaka, who is the CEO of the brand, will work closely with Dr Naana Boakye, who will serve as dermatology director, “to help ensure formulations are of the highest efficiency and standard and that education about skin cancer, in particular, skin protection in the Black, Brown and Asian-Pacific communities, is a priority”.

In addition to creating the brand for people of colour, like herself, the tennis star, who is Japanese and Haitian, also paid homage to her background through the company’s name, as Kin and Lo mean “gold” in Japanese and Haitian Creole, respectively.

“Bringing KINLÒ to life was a personal and professional goal of mine. I am thrilled that my first entrepreneurial endeavor will be something meaningful to my community,” Osaka said, adding that she is grateful to her partners at A-Frame, “a Los Angeles based holding company that develops talent-led sustainable personal care brands built for underserved communities,” and GoDaddy, which helped her create her website and online store.

Naomi Osaka launches new skincare brand for people with melanated skin (Instagram)

She continued: “Through my personal experience and learnings, I have found that Black, Brown, and other melanated skin toned communities are often an after-thought in the discussion and research surrounding sun care, including being excluded from clinical studies on skin cancer. Additionally, there is a lack of sun protection products being made with melanated skin in mind. These points have all led me to create KINLÒ, a mission-first brand.”

On KINLÒ’s website, it states that the brand was designed for Black and brown skin with natural ingredients such as jojoba seed oil, hemp seed and green tea.

The “our story” portion of the website also notes that, despite growing up on tennis courts, SPF was never at the top of Osaka’s mind because “she, like many others, assumed her melanin-rich skin was immune to skin damage”.

“After learning the truth about the damage the sun inflicts on melanated skin, she set out on a mission to dispel old myths and educate others on proper sun protection,” the website reads.

On Tuesday, Osaka posted a photo of herself to Instagram promoting the brand, where she called the experience of creating the skincare line “surreal”.

“It’s been a really surreal experience this past year working on this and having an incredible team with so much knowledge teaching me along the way. So happy with how everything turned out and I’m excited to see what you guys think,” she wrote.