Peloton Instructor Tunde Oyeneyin is not only here to help you keep your mind and body healthy with her energetic workouts. The self-proclaimed “SPF junkie” also wants you to protect your skin, too. That’s why she’s teaming up with EltaMD to launch their Deep Tinted Sunscreen, just in time for skin cancer awareness month.
“It’s a brand that speaks to my people,” the Nike athlete ambassador tells ESSENCE. “I will preach SPF to anyone that will listen to me,” Oyeneyin– who knows the importance of dispelling myths like “Black people don’t need sunscreen”– says. “I always say the best anti-aging agent is SPF.”
As a former makeup artist, naturally, she’s spent much of her life wildly dialed into her skin. Her journey with SPF, specifically, started when she discussed her acne-induced dark spots with a mentor who recommended she wear sunscreen. She started to truly see “the miracle” that SPF brought to her skin with the help of EltaMD. “If you start using SPF, I promise you those spots will start to lighten.”
As for the new tinted sunscreen? EltaMD has introduced an innovation that involves a patent-pending iron oxide blend. This blend enables maximum blendability into a multitude of shade ranges, making an additional tint accessible to those with deeper skin tones.
Along with her partnership, she gives us the tea about what’s in her beauty bag. Her secret? Along with SPF and lip gloss to make sure she looks like a fly girl, Oyeneyin makes sure she has moisturizer for her scalp. “The scalp doesn’t get the love that she deserves,” Oyeneyin said. “You have a dry scalp, you have dry energy, baby.”
And when it comes to keeping it all together, even amidst her busy schedule, she leans on sleep, water, classical music, morning stretches, and moving her body. “I also make it a point to call out what my top three priorities of the day are. I don’t have a routine because every day is different,” Oyeneyin says. “But I know that what works for me is identifying those things so that when new things come up, I know what needs to get done first.”
But more than anything else, when it comes to maintaining her peace and confidence, “I really practice not allowing other people’s energy to block me,” Oyeneyin says. “Sometimes something that is a priority to you may not be my priority. It’s all about staying grounded in yourself and meeting people where you’re able to meet them.”
Whether she’s locking in major skincare partnerships or leading the way on the bike, Oyeneyin reminds us of her go-to mantra. “Confidence is knowing that even when you falter, even when you mess it up, you still get it right,” she says. “Even if you fall off your stride, you are never too far to find your way back within it.” And that’s a mic drop right there.
