by Grace Min
Beauty can be found in every color, shape, and size. Unfortunately, not everyone is represented enough within this industry. People on the side of humanity have been wrecked by the hateful crimes caused by racism. The global outrage that was sparked by the murder of George Floyd gave us a wakeup call that we need to support the black community now more than ever. One small step is to support black-owned businesses and to continue to support them from here-on-out.
Since this is a part of our Skincare Guide, I’ve listed Black-Owned Skincare Brands that you should follow and support.
Ayele & Co
Founded by Danielle Bahi, a licensed esthetician & makeup artist.
She created this brand to provide affordable, plant-based and cruelty-free skincare for all. We liked how you can shop for Ayele & Co. on the IPSY website.
Base Butter
Founded by She’Neil Johnson and Nicolette Graves.
Base Butter creates products to help women with oily & combo skin achieve a radiant complexion. These crowdsourced skincare products are made with clean ingredients and emphasizes skin health and protection. Their star product is the Radiate Face Jelly, an aloe vera gel face moisturizer.
Beautystat Cosmetics
Founded by Ron Robinson, a cosmetics chemist who developed products for big companies like Clinique, L’Oreal, and Revlon.
He launched this brand when him and his team discovered a holy grail Vitamin C formula using advanced technology. Beautystat is on a mission to develop innovative products with high performance and bring them directly to you.
Beneath Your Mask
Founded by Dana Jackson.
Dana created the brand after her painful journey fighting off Lupus and the struggle to own her true identity in the midst of it. She named her brand Beneath Your Mask because through that process, she learned God can only heal her when she was willing to be vulnerable & humble enough with herself to let him in. Dana developed her products with self-acceptance in mind. They’re made of clean ingredients, especially because her skin after her treatments became extremely sensitive. You can find her full story here.
Black Girl Sunscreen
Founded by Shontay Lundy.
Black Girl Sunscreen was created to solve the problem of that horrible white cast when it came to sunscreens and darker skin tones. She wanted to create a “sunscreen made by women of color for people of color” because sun damage affects every skin tone and deeper tones deserve to have fun in the sun too without the white residue. Black Girl Sunscreen is made cruelty-free, natural, vegan, and reef safe. You will find moisturizing ingredients like avocado, jojoba, cacao, carrot juice, and sunflower oil for added benefits.
Hyper Skin
Founded by Desiree Verdejo.
When Desiree was pregnant with her first child, she experienced stubborn hormonal acne that caused extensive hyperpigmentation. She was determined to find a solution. With Hyper Skin, she developed her own Vitamin C serum infused with kojic acid, turmeric, and bearberry. These ingredients work together to brighten complexion, smooth out texture, and drastically treat hyperpigmentation. After developing this magic concoction, Desiree wants to share it with the world at an affordable price.
KNC Beauty
Founded by Kristen Noel Crawley.
KNC Beauty was created after Kristen discovered a wall of lip masks in Tokyo. Her obsession with treating your lips to achieve perfect, kissable lips began. She realized at the time, there were no natural lip masks on the market, then voila, KNC Beauty was born. The first products were natural lip masks and have now expanded to a line of eye masks, bubbly lip balms, and lip scrubbers.
Nyakio Beauty
Founded by Nyakio Kamoche Grieco.
Nyakio grew up visiting her grandmother in Kenya and would watch her use coffee beans to exfoliate. This experience influenced the Nyakio Beauty line which now consists of exfoliators like the Kenyan Coffee scrub and the Chinese Rice Exfoliating Cleansing Powder. Their products are ethically & sustainably sourced, cruelty free and vegan. They use 12 key ingredients from around the world to create products that protect and soothe your skin.
Pholk Beauty
Founded by Niambi Cacchioli.
Pholk Beauty was inspired by Niambi's upbringing in Kentucky where everyone, rich or poor, had a green thumb. Then off she went on her academic travels. In the struggle to find products for her combination skin type during her travels, she visited local apothecaries and bought all kinds of butters, oils, plant waters, and clays. Now with her brand Pholk Beauty, she uses ingredients like cold-pressed hibiscus oil from Senegal, moringa sourced from Ghana, and turmeric from Jamaica. These products are formulated vegan, natural, and made in Jackson Hill district (Jersey City). This historic district was named after the Jackson brothers - two freed slaves who bought land to welcome other post-slavery migrants from the South. Niambi chose this location to emphasize inclusivity and empowerment.
Undefined Beauty
Founded by Dorian Morris.
Dorian established an impressive career after studying at UCLA and Harvard Business School. She ended up working for huge companies like Sephora, Kendo (owns Fenty Beauty) and Covergirl. Undefined Beauty is seeking to disrupt the CBD beauty industry. They got their golden moment with the Indigo Rose Glow Elixir that was created to change the narrative around clean & non-toxic skincare infused with CBD. Their product ingredients also include shea butter, jojoba oil, coconut oil, and natural fruit extracts.
This list does not include every black-owned brand out there so please continue to do your research in & outside of the beauty industry. To support the black community is not a phase, but an ongoing lifestyle and battle to defeat systematic racism.
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