Sun care for every skin tone, no white cast

There's a long-running myth that melanin-rich skin doesn't need sunscreen.

The team behind My Block Skin is proving it wrong.

It started with founder and CEO Dujon Smith. After years of living and traveling across 55 countries, he kept noticing the same two things: sunscreens left a white cast on his skin, and almost nobody was talking to men of color about SPF. Bob Marley died of melanoma, and men of color still have some of the lowest skin cancer survival rates.

He's building it alongside co-founders Jake Howell, who leads marketing as CMO, and Mikey Graham, who runs creative and partnerships. Together they make clear SPF 50 gels and creams that disappear on every skin tone. No white cast, no tint, and priced at roughly $5 to $23, a fraction of what prestige brands charge.

Where they are today:

• First Black-owned sun care brand in Boots' 175 years, 405 stores
• Developing a patent-pending clear mineral SPF at UCLA Magnify Incubator
• Former NBA player James Johnson joined as Global Brand Ambassador
• Partnered with NFL UK, Soho House and the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic

They've been featured in GQ and Forbes, which isn't bad for a brand that launched in 2023. And as of today you can add Ebony to that list, with a really great video on how Dujon built the brand.

Jake and Dujon went through our Spring CPG Accelerator earlier this year. In Dujon’s words:

“LvlUp has been a great partner, putting us in rooms we hadn’t been in before and in front of investors and potential partners that have led to some really exciting opportunities for My Block Skin.”

On November 12, our Fall cohort pitches to a room of VCs, angels, scouts and CPG buyers. Join us in person in LA or tune in virtually.