Black-Owned Beauty Brands to Celebrate This Black History Month (and Beyond)

We love that these days, it's getting easier and easier to find great Black-owned beauty brands to support.

While it may have been difficult in the past to discover great products specifically for people with natural, curly hair and melanin-rich skin, that's not the case these days. Keep reading for some of the awesome brands you can support this Black History Month—and beyond.

AbsoluteJOI

AbsoluteJOI is a fantastic skincare brand developed specifically for melanin-rich skin. While living in Paris, Dr. Anne Beal found that the available skincare products made her skin irritated and breakout-prone, and further research led her to learn that 70% of women of color had the same issues. From there, she set out to create products especially for the needs of Brown and Black women's skin, and the great products of AbsoluteJOI, targeting dark marks and hyperpigmentation, were born.

(via Absolute Joi)

 

Ace Beauté

Ace Beauté was founded by Niye Aniekan-Attang, who was inspired by her grandmother's beauty routines to create her own cosmetics line that was as bright and bold as it was inclusive. The high-end, cruelty-free makeup line includes colors and shades for every shade of skin, allowing all makeup lovers to shine in their own unique ways.

(via Ace Beauté)

 

AJ Crimson Beauty

AJ Crimson Beauty is a brand built of necessity by AJ Crimson himself, an esteemed makeup artist to stars including Fergie, Hilary Duff, Christina Milian, Brandy, Angela Bassett, Raven-Symone, Missy Elliot and so many more. When he was having a hard time finding cosmetics that worked for women of color, without oxidizing or changing, he decided to create his own makeup brand to suit his needs and work for women, no matter their skin tone.

(via AJ Crimson Beauty)

 

Beurre

Beurre was founded by New York-born, Haitian-bred Shirley Menard, a lawyer who fell in love with the healing properties of shea butter after being introduced by a friend. Using her knowledge, she set out to create a new small-batch natural skincare brand utilizing the nourishing, hydrating and fortifying effects of shea butter at their core, making them fantastic for anyone craving smoother, softer skin.

(via Beurre)

 

BROWN GIRL Jane

Founded by CEO Malaika Jones, BROWN GIRL Jane is a brand that aims to teach us all how to prioritize our own wellness. Their products are designed specifically to relieve stress and elevate mood while also enhancing beauty, with products from wellness supplements and skincare products to make skin glow, as well as aromatherapeutic candles and fragrances that inspire joy. Together, they'll help you feel your very best, inside and out.

(via BROWN GIRL Jane)

 

Canvas Beauty

Canvas Beauty founder was still learning to be a hairdresser when she started experimenting in her kitchen to create her own unique products for hair growth. Eventually, she landed on the perfect serum, mixing flaxseed oil, vitamin E and other ingredients, and when she opened her own salon the following year, it was met with glowing reviews. That eventually led to the creation of Canvas Beauty, with powerful products for all hair types designed to help anyone grow back healthy hair.

(via Canvas Beauty)

 

Curl Queen

Curl Queen was built from the ground up by the sought-after hairstylist Nai'vasha Intl, known for her skill in working with natural hair. She's styled everyone from Alicia Keys to Lupita Nyong'o, Serena Williams, Shahidi, Simone Biles and more, and the brand's products, including masques, oils and "The Glove," are all about strengthening and enhancing natural curls, putting their full beauty on display.

(via Curl Queen)

 

Danessa Myricks Beauty

Created by self-taught makeup artist, photographer and entrepreneur Danessa Myricks, Danessa Myricks Beauty was another great makeup brand created out of necessity. Finding that she had to use traditional makeup products in unconventional ways in order to make them work for anyone and everyone, she set out to design a line of multi-functional cosmetics that work for faces of all colors.

(via Danessa Myricks Beauty)

 

Emanate Essentials

Emanate Essentials founder Sha Hannah-Santo was inspired to create Emanate Essentials after serious health issues inspired her to reevaluate not just the foods she was putting into her body, but the products she was putting on her body. After completing training in botanical body care and becoming a certified aromatherapist, she founded Emanate Essentials, which crafts uplifting bath and body products that double as self-care.

(via Emanate Essentials)

 

Frederick Benjamin Grooming

Frederick Benjamin Grooming is a grooming brand developed by Michael James to conquer the dry scalps and razor bumps Black men are forced to deal with when they use the wrong products. He named the company after his grandfather, Frederick Benjamin, developing a regimen that improves hair and beard health, and the overall shaving experience, made with the particular needs of Black men in mind.

(via Frederick Benjamin Grooming)

 

Glamazon Beauty 

Glamazon Beauty was created by Kim Baker, a former Wilhelmina Model who learned the cosmetics trade having to do her own makeup before shoots, and who eventually became a commercial makeup artist to stars from Tom Cruise and Ving Rhames to Toni Braxton and Dakota Fanning. Kim wanted to make it easy for anyone to purchase makeup in their perfect shades, and thus, Glamazon Beauty was born.

(via Glamazon Beauty)

 

KOSA Professionals 

KOSA Professionals, developed by Yummie O, is an innovative brand that's all about hair styling tools that are safe for all hair types, designed to get the desired results without heat damage. Their products are cute yet effective, delivering covetable looks without hurting your hair in the process.

(via KOSA Professionals)

 

LYS Beauty

LYS Beauty is the brainchild of Tisha Thompson, a veteran makeup artist and beauty business maven on a mission to create music that doesn't just look great for all skin types, textures and tones, but that also supports skin with clean and healthy formulas. LYS Beauty's skin-first products address common skin concerns, including sensitivity as well as dark spots and hyperpigmentation.

(via LYS Beauty)

 

PuffCuff

Ceata Lash is the founder and inventor of the PuffCuff, an innovative and user-friendly unisex hair clamp that works with the thickness and texture of natural hair. Unlike most accessories, designed for thin, straight hair, the PuffCuff doesn't cinch hair and cause breakage, making it perfect for anyone with naturally curly hair, locks or braids.

(via PuffCuff)

 

Shea Radiance 

Shea Radiance creators Funlayo & Shola Alabi first fell in love with shea butter as a healing balm to their family's issues with dry skin and eczema, developing products in their kitchen before bringing them to the world at large. Their shea-based body and haircare help people of any age look their best, and they also source their shea butter from Western Africa, where it's a pathway for economic success for many local women.

(via Shea Radiance)

 

Take Care Wellness

Take Care Wellness creator Genese Jamilah got the idea for the brand after years of trying every sleep aid imaginable and finally finding something that worked in the form of a relaxing pillow spray. The brand focuses on pillow sprays and small-batch essential oil blends that use aromatherapy to relax restless minds and bring peaceful sleep, resulting in powerful self-care.

(via Take Care Wellness)

 

TrapStix Lip Balm

TrapStix Lip Balm was created by student and entrepreneur Aysia Hilliard, who came up with the ingenious idea of crafting tasty, healing lip balms with names inspired by today's greatest musical artists. From Leminem and J. Cola to Post Melone, Wu-Tangerine and more, each cleverly named balm also packs a tasty punch. The brand has also become quite successful thanks to going viral on TikTok.

(via TrapStix)

 

UOMA Beauty

Nigerian-born beauty exec Sharon Chuter is the founder, CEO and creator of UOMA Beauty (uoma meaning "beautiful" in Igbo). The brand's bold makeup products are made with inspiration from her Afro heritage, combined with modern cosmetics to create something entirely new, with makeup that is great for skin of all tones while also showing its natural beauty.

(via UOMA Beauty)

 

Upgrade

When Britney Winters was a student in Boston, she found that she just couldn't find solutions that worked for her natural hair—so she set out to create them herself. The result was Upgrade, a tech-enabled platform that offers high-quality, custom wigs and hair products and services, connecting the best hairstylists with customers for the results they deserve.

(via Upgrade)

 

WhollyGloss 

Erica Bigger was an assistant stylist for designers and brands including Vera Wang and Oscar De La Renta before becoming founder and CEO of WhollyGloss, a beauty brand developed around enhancing natural beauty. When she struggled to find glosses that looked highly pigmented against her dark-colored lips—especially ones that were natural and vegan—she became determined to make her own. The brand's luxury vegan lip glosses, plumping glosses and cream lipsticks are formulated to always deliver results.

(via WhollyGloss)

 

Yummy Extensions

Also developed by Yummie O, Yummy Extensions's products are made with real human hair, and specifically curated with the customer in mind. The brand is all about quality, with their extensions being long-lasting and versatile, getting better with each wash, and capable of being worn straight, wavy or curly.

(via Yummy Extensions)

 

Want to support even more Black-owned businesses? Click HERE for all of the delicious Black-owned foodie brands you need to try at least once.