A little over a decade ago, a buyer for a major retailer turned down board-certified dermatologist Dr. Heather Woolery-Lloyd‘s skin care brand because of its focus on darker skin tones. “They told me, ‘we don’t cater to that market,’” says Woolery-Lloyd, who is also founder of skin care education platform Derm Friends. “They said they had no interest in any type of brands that focus on that demographic.”
Since then, there’s been progress — when Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty launched in 2017 with 40 shades of its Pro Filt’R foundation, the product line resulted in “The Fenty Effect,” wherein major beauty brands like Dior and CoverGirl began expanding their own range of shades and creating more inclusive formulas for darker complexions. But there’s further to go: Though Black consumers show an affinity and preference for Black-owned beauty brands, only 4% to 7% of beauty brands carried by retail stores are Black-owned or Black-founded, according to a 2022 report by the McKinsey Institute.
But movements like the Fifteen Percent Pledge, created in 2020 so that companies across all industries commit at least 15% of their shelves to Black-owned businesses, are working to change that, with major companies like Sephora and Ulta Beauty signing on. The result has been positive for Black business owners, consumers and the beauty industry.
“I love that Black beauty brands have this very modern approach — they look young and fresh, whereas for years, brands made these old-fashioned products that have been around for decades that never changed because that was all that was available,” says Woolery-Lloyd.
To highlight notable Black-owned brands in the beauty space, we reached out to beauty brands across skin care, hair care and makeup to compile Black-owned beauty companies that we think are worth checking out. We also confirmed with each brand below that they’re at least 51% Black-owned, which is in-line with the Census Bureau’s definition of a Black-owned business.
SKIP AHEAD Black-owned skin care brands | Black-owned makeup brands | Black-owned hair care brands
Black-owned skin care brands
Cay Skin
As someone with vitiligo, a condition that causes patches of skin to lose color, fashion model and Cay Skin founder Winnie Harlow has always prioritized sun protection. Her brand’s lip balms, body serums, face lotions and more all have at least SPF 30, are noncomedogenic (meaning they won’t clog pores) and designed for all skin tones. Cay Skin also makes after-sun care products.
Eadem
The Latin word eadem means “the same or all,” and that’s exactly what creators Marie Kouadio and Alice Lin wanted to channel with the brand. The skin care brand is designed to be inclusive of skin tones of color — in fact, it pioneered the term “Smart Melanin Beauty,” which means the formulas are clinically tested on darker skin tones. The brand offers serums, cleansers, moisturizers and more to target different skin concerns, including blackheads, dark spots, dry skin and acne scars.
Flora & Noor
Jordan Karim, founder and CEO of Flora & Noor, was working as a pharmaceutical skin care consultant when she noticed that the market was missing products with halal-certified ingredients safe for melanin-rich skin. So, she created her own brand. Flora & Noor offers a range of body butters and scrubs, face moisturizers, cleansers, masks and more, as well as a subscription service that delivers products directly to your door.
Topicals
Topicals is a science-backed skin care brand designed to improve and relieve chronic skin concerns like eczema and hyperpigmentation. Topicals’ collection of serums (including its bestselling dark spot corrector), moisturizers, body mists and more are formulated with ingredients and herbals based on guidance from an advisory board of dermatologists and are backed by peer-reviewed clinical studies, according to the brand.
Unsun Cosmetics
Unsun Cosmetics is made specifically for people with darker complexions who want sun protection. Founder and owner Katonya Breaux was inspired to create the brand while trying to address sun damage on her own skin — in her experience, chemical sunscreens were irritating and mineral-based options were often too thick, white and pasty. “I had no success with finding tinted mineral sunscreens with shade options matching my skin tone,” Breaux tells us. In addition to sunscreens with SPF 30, Unsun Cosmetics offers after-sun care products and face and body highlighters.
Black-owned makeup brands
Ami Colé
Ami Colé is a clean beauty brand founded by Senegalese-American Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye. The brand’s name is inspired by and named after N’Diaye-Mbaye’s mother, who owned a hair braiding salon in Harlem. N’Diaye-Mbaye created Ami Colé after noticing a lack of sustainable beauty brands for women of color. All of Ami Colé’s products are vegan, fragrance- and alcohol-free, hypoallergenic and noncomedogenic.
Danessa Myricks
Danessa Myricks Beauty is a favorite of Dr. Aleta Simmons, a board-certified dermatologist and owner of Simmons Skin Center in Nashville, Tennessee, who says she likes the brand’s liquid eye shadows. There are “tons of colors that make your skin pop, whatever brown skin tone you are,” she says. The brand offers a wide range of makeup products for the face and eyes, including high-impact liquid eye shadows and multichrome eyeshadow flake toppers.
The Lip Bar
Founded in Detroit, The Lip Bar — one of Simmons’ recommendations — offers brightly colored lipsticks, liquid lips and matte stains designed to stay on for around 24 hours, according to the brand. Lip Bar also offers a Complexion Quiz to show you the best product shades for your skin tone, and Virtual Try-On of lipstick shades using your camera. The Lip Bar also recently launched a skin care line that includes a moisturizer, makeup remover balm, exfoliating sponge and more.
LYS Beauty
Tisha Thompson, a former makeup artist and founder of LYS Beauty, created the brand during the Covid pandemic as a way to make clean beauty products affordable and accessible for all skin tones and types. Since its start, the brand has significantly grown — in fact, in 2021, it became the first-ever Black-owned clean makeup brand to hit Sephora shelves, according to the brand. LYS Beauty offers dozens of makeup products for the face, eyes and lips in various shades and formulas.
Janet & Jo
Janet & Jo founder Kendra Woolridge, who named the brand after her two grandmothers, created it after learning about the toxins and carcinogens found in traditional nail polishes. That aspect hit close to home after she lost her grandmother Jo (half of the company’s namesake) and her mother to cancer. Janet & Jo makes vegan, cruelty-free and vibrant nail lacquers.
Black-owned hair care brands
Bomba Curls
Afro-Dominicana Lulu Cordero created Bomba Curls after using hair care recipes from the Dominican Republic to promote hair growth and health while suffering from severe traction alopecia. The brand has clean, pure and organic natural hair products with a focus on curly and coily hair textures. Bomba Curls offers hair masks, oils, satin scrunchies and more.
Camille Rose
Janell Stephens created Camille Rose as a means of curing the eczema of her five young children, which was caused by severe dryness of their hair. The brand offers hair, skin and body care products that are made using natural and food-grade ingredients, and it’s a favorite of Simmons, who loves that its products provide moisture and make styling easier.
Melanin Haircare
Melanin Haircare focuses on scalp and natural hair health. It was created in 2015 after years of sisters Whitney and Tafetta White recommending DIY hair care recipes and styling tips. The brand offers hair products like leave-in conditioners, shampoos and hair oils that have nontoxic, natural ingredients. Since its launch, Melanin Haircare has expanded its range to include hair accessories like satin head wraps.
Pattern Beauty
Created by actress Tracee Ellis Ross, Pattern Beauty makes products like styling creams, scalp detox oils, conditioners and even blow dryers for all hair textures, including loose curls and tight coils. Pattern Beauty also offers quizzes and curl guides to find the best treatment for your specific hair type.
Taliah Waajid
Taliah Waajid, the founder of the eponymous brand, is a natural hair care expert, educator and stylist who created a line of chemical-free hair care products specifically for naturally curly, coily, kinky and wavy textures. “If I have braids in my hair, I like to use Taliah Waajid products,” says Simmons. In addition to various conditioners, hair oils, curl creams and more, the brand offers educational guides to find the best treatments for your hair, including a guide for protective styles and a curly hair styling guide.
Meet our experts
At NBC Select, we work with experts who have specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and/or experience. We also take steps to ensure that all expert advice and recommendations are made independently and with no undisclosed financial conflicts of interest.
- Dr. Heather Woolery-Lloyd is a board-certified dermatologist and founder of skin care education platform Derm Friends.
- Dr. Aleta Simmons is a board-certified dermatologist and owner of the Simmons Skin Center in Nashville and greater Tennessee areas. She is also the founder of skin care education platform Get the Skin-E.
Why trust NBC Select?
Mili Godio is an updates editor at NBC Select who leads content for the site’s Identities vertical, including Black-owned, women-owned and AAPI-owned businesses. For this article, she connected with over 50 beauty brands to confirm that they’re at least 51% Black-owned. (To be considered a Black-owned business, a company must be at least 51% Black-owned, according to the Census Bureau.) She also rounded up a few notable products from Black-owned brands.
Catch up on NBC Select’s in-depth coverage of personal finance, tech and tools, wellness and more, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok to stay up to date.
