The BEST Black-Owned Beauty Brands to Shop
By Lydia Hurley
November 7, 2020
Image Credit: Clarke Sanders via Unsplash.com
The majority of beauty products on the market today are focused on the beauty needs of white people more than those of people of color. This is evidenced by the many brands that do not carry a wide foundation shade range and the hair care market having few products that are catered towards all hair types.
Thankfully, many beauty brands have been making strides towards widening their range of products over the last few years.
This includes offering a variety of products that cater to diverse skin and hair types. Specifically, Black-owned entrepreneurs have founded their brands with the beauty needs of people of color in mind. These brands are often underrepresented in the beauty industry, so it is important to celebrate brands that have something for everyone.
Here are some of the best Black-owned beauty brands and products to try out (and ones that won’t break the bank!)
Hair care
Black-owned brands have widened the scope of hair products available, especially products that cater to ethnic hair and varying curl types. This Hair Type Quiz from Curls can help you determine what hair type you have and cater the products you use to it!
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Carol’s Daughter is a natural beauty brand founded by Lisa Price. She began the brand by making her own products, inspired by her mother’s methods, and now sells hair, body and skincare products made from raw and natural ingredients. These products are sold at drugstores and on the Carol’s Daughter website and range from $10-15.
Erryca Shuford, a junior at the University of Maryland, loves the Carol's Daughter Edge Control because “It laid my edges down really nicely and left little residue.”
UMD junior Seagen Tirfe uses the Curl Quenching Deep Moisture Mask, which comes in a few different scents. Seagen originally tried the product “because it has such good reviews, and it’s Black-owned! Plus, it’s super moisturizing and made my hair so soft.”
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Miss Jessie’s is a Black-owned hair care brand founded by sisters Miko and Titi Branch in 2004. Their experience working in a hair salon inspired them to create a line of products catered to their clients’ hair types. Their products, which are categorized by hair type, are available on their website but also sold at most drugstores. Miss Jessie’s products range from $13-25.
UMD junior Tatia Wilson loves the Miss Jessie’s Multicultural Curl Creme because “My curls came out soft and the product smelled good. It also was Black owned, so I felt like they knew Black hair better. However, it's a little on the expensive side for what comes in the bottle.”
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Another top Black-owned hair care brand is Adwoa Beauty, which was founded by Julian Addo in 2017. Adwoa Beauty products are a non-toxic, gender-neutral hair care brand that caters to multi-cultural hair. Some of their best selling products include the Baomint Moisturizing Shampoo and Conditioner as well as the Moisturizing Curl Defining Cream.
Makeup
As for Black-owned makeup products, we looked into some of the most celebrated brands from three different price ranges. These brands cater to all skin types and shades and have some of the broadest shade ranges in the makeup industry.
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Black Opal Beauty is an affordable Black-owned beauty brand that started in 1994 to celebrate and empower Black skin. They offer a wide range of beauty products for the eyes, lips and face, with a shade range targeted to women of color. Most of their beauty products range from $9-$12 and are sold at Walmart and other drugstores. Their featured makeup products are the True Color Pore Perfecting Liquid Foundation and the True Color Skin Perfecting Stick Foundation, both of which come in 19 shades!
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Another mid-range option for makeup products is EveryHue Beauty, which was founded by beauty gurus Gizelle Bryant, Erika Liles and Sophia Rabkin. Their brand focuses on makeup products with medium coverage that come in a variety of shades. Their featured products are their Luminous Tinted Moisturizer ($18) and ‘The Corrector’ concealer stick ($12). EveryHue Beauty is sold at Target and on their website.
Thankfully, many beauty brands have been making strides towards widening their range of products over the last few years.
This includes offering a variety of products that cater to diverse skin and hair types. Specifically, Black-owned entrepreneurs have founded their brands with the beauty needs of people of color in mind. These brands are often underrepresented in the beauty industry, so it is important to celebrate brands that have something for everyone.
Here are some of the best Black-owned beauty brands and products to try out (and ones that won’t break the bank!)
Hair care
Black-owned brands have widened the scope of hair products available, especially products that cater to ethnic hair and varying curl types. This Hair Type Quiz from Curls can help you determine what hair type you have and cater the products you use to it!
$
Carol’s Daughter is a natural beauty brand founded by Lisa Price. She began the brand by making her own products, inspired by her mother’s methods, and now sells hair, body and skincare products made from raw and natural ingredients. These products are sold at drugstores and on the Carol’s Daughter website and range from $10-15.
Erryca Shuford, a junior at the University of Maryland, loves the Carol's Daughter Edge Control because “It laid my edges down really nicely and left little residue.”
UMD junior Seagen Tirfe uses the Curl Quenching Deep Moisture Mask, which comes in a few different scents. Seagen originally tried the product “because it has such good reviews, and it’s Black-owned! Plus, it’s super moisturizing and made my hair so soft.”
$$
Miss Jessie’s is a Black-owned hair care brand founded by sisters Miko and Titi Branch in 2004. Their experience working in a hair salon inspired them to create a line of products catered to their clients’ hair types. Their products, which are categorized by hair type, are available on their website but also sold at most drugstores. Miss Jessie’s products range from $13-25.
UMD junior Tatia Wilson loves the Miss Jessie’s Multicultural Curl Creme because “My curls came out soft and the product smelled good. It also was Black owned, so I felt like they knew Black hair better. However, it's a little on the expensive side for what comes in the bottle.”
$$$
Another top Black-owned hair care brand is Adwoa Beauty, which was founded by Julian Addo in 2017. Adwoa Beauty products are a non-toxic, gender-neutral hair care brand that caters to multi-cultural hair. Some of their best selling products include the Baomint Moisturizing Shampoo and Conditioner as well as the Moisturizing Curl Defining Cream.
Makeup
As for Black-owned makeup products, we looked into some of the most celebrated brands from three different price ranges. These brands cater to all skin types and shades and have some of the broadest shade ranges in the makeup industry.
$
Black Opal Beauty is an affordable Black-owned beauty brand that started in 1994 to celebrate and empower Black skin. They offer a wide range of beauty products for the eyes, lips and face, with a shade range targeted to women of color. Most of their beauty products range from $9-$12 and are sold at Walmart and other drugstores. Their featured makeup products are the True Color Pore Perfecting Liquid Foundation and the True Color Skin Perfecting Stick Foundation, both of which come in 19 shades!
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Another mid-range option for makeup products is EveryHue Beauty, which was founded by beauty gurus Gizelle Bryant, Erika Liles and Sophia Rabkin. Their brand focuses on makeup products with medium coverage that come in a variety of shades. Their featured products are their Luminous Tinted Moisturizer ($18) and ‘The Corrector’ concealer stick ($12). EveryHue Beauty is sold at Target and on their website.
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Another fan-favorite for Black-owned cosmetics is Fenty Beauty. Founded by Rihanna in 2017, the brand offers beauty products that “perform across all skin types and tones,” and their face makeup lines come in over 50 shades. Their most popular product is their Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation ($34). UMD junior Tatia Wilson uses this product, “I love their foundation because it doesn’t feel heavy and you can use little to cover up. It also doesn’t stick to my mask when I wear it!” she says. Tatia is also a big fan of their lip gloss, the Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer ($19), and likes how “it looks really pretty but is also moisturizing.” Fenty Beauty is sold at Sephora, Ulta, and on their website. |
Image Credit: Courtesy of Tatia Wilson
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Looking for more options? This list from Elle Beauty lists the top 16 brands with the broadest shade ranges for their face makeup, and many of these brands offer over a hundred shades.
A solid skincare routine is essential for everyone, but like hair care, it might differ based on your skin type. It is also worth noting that people with melanin-rich skin may have different skin concerns than those with a lighter complexion.
Skincare specialist and licensed dermatologist Dr. Heather Wooley-LLoyd, M.D, explains that “Those with lighter complexions are more susceptible to wrinkles and fine lines, leading this group to focus more on products that address those anti-aging concerns.” In contrast, "Those with darker skin tones are more likely to experience discoloration and hyperpigmentation due to higher levels of melanin.”
Blissoma, a natural beauty brand, mentioned in their article How To Care for Melanin Rich Skin that “The skin needs natural oils, so avoid soaps that leave skin with a ‘squeaky" feel.’ Skin with more melanin needs more care when exfoliating. This is because when the skin is traumatized, it responds by producing more melanin to protect that area of skin. Overproduction of melanin can result in darker patches, even on already dark skin.”
These Black-owned skincare brands address skin concerns that affect people of color but also ones that bring new options for all skin types to the market.
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It is important to protect your skin from the sun year-round, and with the wide variety of sunscreen for different skin types, these products are typically catered to those with pale complexions and not people of color. Black Girl Sunscreen was founded in Miami, FL. in 2016 to provide sun protection for darker skin tones. Their most popular product, the Black Girl SPF 30 Sunscreen ($18), provides sun protection without the white tint that most sunscreens leave behind. Their sunscreen works on all skin types.
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Ayele & Co. is a Black-owned beauty and skincare brand that offers a line of natural, cruelty-free products to nurture that skin. “We at Ayele & Co. believe that great natural skin care should be affordable, and readily available to everyone regardless of race, gender, and skin type.” Some of their featured products are the June’s Superfood Vitamin C Concentrate ($37) and the Sunflower Sweets Mask ($24).
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Niambi Cacchioli founded Pholk Beauty with African-derived beauty wisdom in mind, using natural products from apothecary shops to curate the brand’s products. Pholk strives to bring herbalist methods to the skincare market, and the brand offers many natural skincare products for all different skin types. Their skincare sets include trios that include a face wash, oil and a moisturizer that focus on different skin concerns. The Deep Clean and Slay Daily Ritual Set ($60) and the Maskne Relief Kit ($45) are two of Pholk’s most popular products.
Remember to continue to support Black-owned brands and integrate their products into your routine! :)