In a beauty industry that too often fails to cater to women of colour, many of those women of colour have taken matters into their own hands by starting their own companies addressing the specific needs of women of color, along with products suitable for anyone and everyone, like nontoxic menstrual hygiene products and SPF that won’t leave a trace.
The global hair care market was valued at $95.45 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach $116 billion by 2024. The global skin care products market size is projected to reach $183.03 billion by 2025.
These industries are fueled primarily by Black consumers. Let’s funnel more of that money into Black owned brands.
Here, we’ve rounded up 10 of Black-Owned Businesses, promising something for everyone to obsess over.
- Fenty
You can’t talk about beauty inclusion without talking about Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty. The line was one of the first mainstream brands to sell 40 shades of foundation in truly diverse tones.
Rihanna created a new standard for complexion inclusion that caused major brands, many of which are white-owned to expand their ranges to include shades for women of colour. Her thoughtfulness when it comes to skin tones extends past foundation, with Rihanna creating “universal” products that truly fit the fairest and darkest skin tones.
Products offered: Skin Care
Frustrated with the lack of inclusivity represented by many mainstream beauty brands, The Lip Bar CEO Melissa Butler created her own range of lip products for all shades. From eye-catching red lipsticks to metallic glosses, this brand has a lipstick to match any mood.
It’s imperative to celebrate the stories and accomplishments of all African-Americans in the beauty space to honor their resilience and strength, says Butler. “There are many black women whose shoulders I stand on today only because they endured before me,” she says. “But [we are] filled with purpose and that should be celebrated.”
Products offered: Beauty
The Hersnee Brand typifies the essence of a brand that is focused on celebrating the nuanced feminine beauty, irrespective of the social constructs that have created gulfs of divisions.
All women are beautiful and the products are meant to enhance and to give the utmost confidence to every female in the world to celebrate themselves.
Hersnee is above all, the brand of happy femininity.
Products offered: Skin care
“My inspiration for Base Butter has evolved over the years,” founder and CEO She’Neil Johnson says of her company, which started as a passion project in 2015. “Initially it was just a creative outlet, but it grew into showcasing women who looked like my friends and sisters in beauty editorial. More recently, [our mission has become about] empowering black women to become more educated and confident consumers when it comes to their skin care.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5fjIowFF6U/
Products Offered: Hair Care and Body Care
This affordable skincare-focused brand makes modern, simply designed bottles that are practically made for a beauty routine #shelfie. The ingredients focus in on antioxidants and botanicals, and the brand even carries a line for men.
Products Offered: Body and Skin care
Founded by Chichi Eburu, Juvia’s claim to fame has been their ultra pigmented eyeshadow palettes, but that’s only a glimpse of what the brand has to offer. The brand, which is inspired by African culture, offers amazing products for prices that are unmatched. One of their most recent launches, the Nubian loose highlighters ($14), will have you glowing to infinity and beyond.
Products offered: Beauty
Courtney Adeleye used her own hair journey as a starting point for her brand. While documenting her hair journey on YouTube, Courtney discovered a lot about ingredients that promote hair growth and retention while remaining healthy for the body.
Courtney’s unique healthy product mixes intrigued viewers and quickly garnered her a large following. Her science-based background helped her identify what products and ingredients would render the best results.
Realizing that her passion for health as a Bachelor’s Degree Registered Nurse and unique medical knowledge filled a gap in the hair care community, she decided to go all in with product production, and The Mane Choice Hair Solution was born. Courtney continued the business from her kitchen for one year until the demand for her natural hair care products expanded the business.
Products Offered: Hair Care
- Black Girl Sunscreen SPF 30
A sunscreen made for brown skin by women of color. The formula goes on completely clear and gives the skin a pretty glow. Because it hydrates without being greasy or tacky, it’s an effective base for makeup.
Products Offered : Skincare
- Pholk Beauty
Formerly known as Bloomsbury SQ Skincare, Pholk beauty was born out of founder Niambi Cacchioli’s own challenges and frustration in finding an inclusive beauty brand that addresses the specific skincare concerns of women of color. Inspired by the skincare practices of people in the African dispora, the vegan label offers all skincare essentials from face oils, and masks, to toners and cleansers. “Pholk Beauty grew out of my own sense of awe and gratitude at the timeless folk beauty and herbalist wisdom of my own kin, the cultivators and botanicals and minerals that have nourished our skin and souls for generations, and the multitude of ways that people of color infuse the globe with beauty,” Cacchioli states on her website.
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Amazing brands!!! 😳😳