Editor’s Note
This article is part of a series highlighting Black-owned businesses, focusing on founders in the beauty and wellness sectors. Their stories underscore both entrepreneurial success and the systemic challenges, such as access to capital, that many continue to navigate.
There are roughly 4.6 million Black-owned businesses in the U.S. today, according to data from The Brookings Institution, many of which are led by talented artists, chefs, hair stylists, parents and fashion designers. We’ve interviewed dozens of Black entrepreneurs to learn about the successes and challenges they face while running their companies, and most stress that they’ve had to overcome barriers like a lack of access to capital and higher rates of financial distress compared to white-owned businesses.
Still, they’ve established support networks that include loyal customers who shop from them year round, not just during Black History Month, which takes place every February. That’s in addition to efforts from nonprofits like The Fifteen Percent Pledge, which is working to get more Black-owned brands on the shelves of major retailers nationwide.
Our guide of Black-owned businesses spans across shopping categories like beauty, home and kitchen, fashion and more. We’ve also confirmed that each company is at least 51% Black-owned, the threshold required to be considered a Black-owned business, according to the Census Bureau.
Owner Gaby L. Longsworth founded Absolutely Everything Curly with the desire to educate people about textured hair, hair products and ingredients. The company offers a handful of downloadable hair care guides via its website.
Alodia’s hair care products are made with non-toxic, organic and natural ingredients, says founder Isfahan Chambers-Harris.
The brand offers an online quiz to determine a personalized hair care routine based on your scalp health and hair goals.
Janell Stephens founded Camille Rose as a means of curing the eczema of her five young children, which developed as a result of severe dryness of their hair. The brand offers hair, skin and body care products, all of which are made using natural and food-grade ingredients, according to the brand.
Beyonce was inspired to start Cecred by her mother, Tina Knowles, who was a hairstylist and designer for the girl group Destiny’s Child at their start. The brand focuses on scientifically-backed hair care that’s designed to help recover keratin, which results in stronger, longer and hydrated strands, especially for natural hair.
Eadem, founded by Alice Lin Glover and Marie Kouadio, was created from the belief that skin care should both work well and feel authentic. (This is also reflected in the brand’s name, which means “the same” in Latin.) Although the brand focuses primarily on skin care, Eadem also dabbles in the beauty space with its line of healing, moisturizing lip balms. In conjunction with an in-house team of dermatologists and chemists, Eadem focuses on clinical, melanin-compatible skin care that’s made for everyone, regardless of complexion, to feel comfortable and confident in their skin, according to the brand.
Eden Gilliam, an esthetician and founder of Eve Milan New York, was inspired to start her skin care company because she wanted to leave behind a legacy for her daughter.
Eve Milan New York offers a range of skin care products.
Jordan Karim, founder and CEO of Flora & Noor, got the idea for her company while working as a pharmaceutical skin care consultant. None of the formulas she saw on the market fit what she was looking for — halal-certified ingredients safe for melanin-rich skin — so she created her own.
Flora & Noor has body butters and scrubs, face moisturizers, cleansers, masks and more. The brand also offers a subscription service that delivers products straight to your door.
Best friends Tara Chandra and Susan Allen began Here We Flow after realizing that they couldn’t find organic tampons that worked for them. Made to empower people to feel confident through their “messiest bodily moments,” the brand sells menstrual products.
(Note: The original content for LYS Beauty was not provided, so this section is left as a placeholder heading.)
