It’s great to see publications across the country promoting Black-owned beauty brands as ESSENCE has been doing for the past 70 years. While it’s unfortunate that their tenacity came only after the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, and Breonna Taylor, we’re hoping that touting Black beauty businesses as the best will not be a trend, like promoting Black beauty on Black people has been.

So we want to introduce the people behind several Black-owned beauty brands, because that’s truly what’s important here. From kitchen chemists to beauty industry insiders, these men and women created their brands when no one else catered to our needs. They get up everyday and hustle hard for the community and beyond. Their businesses are fueled by love and run on passion (and, of course, kick-ass teams).

When the protests end and if the movement proves to have simply been a moment, these entrepreneurs will still be here. So while shopping Black-owned beauty might only be on trend today, we hope that seeing the actual people who founded these brands will make supporting Black businesses timeless.

Editor’s Note: There are several Black-owned beauty brands and we regret that we could not include them all, and their founders, in this list. ESSENCE will continue to promote Black-owned beauty brands and entrepreneurs creating quality products year-round.

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