"Ladies, Ladies, please step forward! Black, Latino, Hispanic, Asian, Native American and Indian women, all step forward please." Now is the time for you to shine and show off your beauty. We live in a multi-cultural world today and there are more ethnic groups on the rise such as biracial. As families continue to multiply they add to the population of all these ethnic groups. The main groups coming into recognition by the Health and Beauty industry are Latino/Hispanic-American, Asian American and Indian-American. The ethnic groups that have been with us the longest are African American and Native American.

When we talk about ethnic and beauty many people assume we are referring to African-African American. Even though at the time African American was the largest ethnic group, there is talk of the Hispanic population becoming the largest. Why do I mention this; in all these ethnic groups there are women. Women with different skin tones, colors, features hair and eyes. Women who posses this ethnic beauty is now becoming more recognized because of celebrities entering the main stream of the entertainment world. Beauty and fashion is beginning to take on a new direction and look. Individuality is beginning to play an important role in women's beauty today, especially among the ethnic groups of women mentioned above.

How do you define beauty? In one word, how would you define beauty? There are many definitions in the dictionary but the one word used caught my attention and that word was "Attractiveness". Attractiveness is beauty in one word. We all have something people are attracted to, whether good or bad, but, for the sake of this article we are using it in context of "what is beautiful about you". What do you think is the most attractive quality about yourself? How do you see yourself in light of who you are? Do you wish to be someone else, have different hair maybe? What would you say is the best attribute you have going for yourself? Is it your hair, eyes, face, body etc.? Really think about this; what do you think is the most attractive quality or attribute you posses? With that said let's see how together, through this website, we can find ways to accentuate your best qualities and attributes.

Let's talk a little about the Health and Beauty industry. Now, I know many people buy products through chain stores which is the mainstream for cosmetics and skin care products. Finding the right product for your skin type or even your color can be a daunting task. The Health and beauty industry has had its focus on the predominately Caucasian population. This was the main stream for so long. But now that baby boomers are hitting retirement and approaching 50 and 60 years old, there is a growing demand for the industry to service the various groups with ethnic backgrounds and origins. They are also taking better care of themselves and women over 40 are looking fabulous. They are growing old with style, fashion and beauty.

Also, an up and coming generation is now on the forefront of becoming major consumers of the health and beauty market. The multi-cultural groups in this instant has thrived and multiplied adding to the population of various groups. Now there is even a bigger demand for products, advice and information. to help the young ethnic woman to look their best and accentuate their positive attributes too. The Health and Beauty industry must find a way to fill in the gap for the growing demand of the ethnic woman young, middle-aged and senior.

We are women who are among the population of women worldwide but we also have different backgrounds, histories, cultures and heritages. We cannot ignore the fact that we really are different but share many common bonds. While we want to stay true to our cultures and heritages we also celebrate our country that allows us the freedom to welcome others and help them to thrive and be successful. No two women are alike but at the same time we do share common bonds like family and relationships.

My hope is that we will learn from each other and grow to appreciate all women who are different from us. The key here is to bring out the beauty by finding ways to accentuate the positive.

If you would like to know more come by the forum and introduce yourself. There we can ask questions, address other topics or discuss unique subjects to being an ethnic woman. We also meet others with similar needs or issues. Who knows, maybe even make a friend or two. Check it out and I hope to see there.

~ Grace D. Dooley