Six Black-Owned Beauty Brands That Inspire Me

I’ve worked in the beauty industry for over 12 years now. At the same time, I’ve also been one of the few if not only African Americans on staff and have come to understand the power and the struggles in Black Beauty.

Luckily, I’ve been fortunate to believe in the importance of having a personal and business mission statement as a way of anchoring oneself to something greater than themselves. In my book Side Hustle & Flow I paraphrase internationally known, best-selling author Laurie Beth Jones on this very subject.

In her book The Path, Jones discusses the importance of having a mission statement for your work and life: “A purpose statement is a written-down reason for being. Clarity is power: Once you are clear about what you were put here to do then ‘jobs’ become only a means toward accomplishing your mission, not an end in themselves.” Laurie helped me understand that a mission statement should be short, succinct, easy to remember and understand so that even a child could understand it.

Keeping this in mind, as we take a moment to reflect on our own mission statements, I would like to use Black History Month as a time to reflect on six Black Beauty brands and their missions of promoting Black Beauty while living your best life, on your own terms, in your own way.

Promoting Inclusivity

Rihanna created Fenty Beauty “so that women everywhere would be included,” focusing on a wide range of traditionally hard-to-match skin tones, developing formulas that work for all skin types, and pinpointing universal shades.

From my previous life at NYX Professional Makeup I understand how difficult it has been for people of color to find shade ranges for every skin tone, as Black can be “high yellow to deep mahogany.”

Fenty disrupted the beauty industry by debuting 40 shades in 2017 (which then expanded to 50), with overwhelmingly high demand at Sephora and backing by luxury behemoth LVMH. We now see inclusive shades everywhere. Thank you, Rihanna.

Showing off her pregnant belly during the eye catching Superbowl halftime show, Rihanna took the world by storm strategically promoting her fashion and beauty lines with a buzzworthy look , which you can learn how to recreate here.

Promoting Innovation

SoftSheen Carson is an ethnic hair care company “that provides people of color with superior, innovative products to help them express their unique looks.” For over 110 years, their mission has been helping consumers find great, tailor made, scientifically advanced beauty tools, and is now backed by L’Oréal. The brand also has the distinction of being the #1 ethnic haircare brand in the world.

One of the products that has been my go-to for a number of years is Magic Shave, which is a chemical depilatory (a way to remove hair without shaving), as Black men like me are often prone to razor bumps, irritation and skin inflammation, but this gem eliminates razors altogether.

For women of color, one of their most well-known products is Dark & Lovely, a moisturizing permanent relaxer, that helps make hair silky and more manageable. Erica Culpepper, who manages the brand plus Carol’s Daughter and Thayer’s as a General Manager at L’Oréal, shared the following in an interview with Glossy:

“It’s important to support Black-owned brands. It’s also important to support Black-founded brands, as well as Black-led brands. So, it’s all a very big and important conversation, and we need all of it in order to be successful.”

Promoting a Natural Approach

The mission of Carol's Daughter is to fulfill a diverse range of beauty needs by creating high-quality, proven products formulated with natural ingredients. There has been a big push recently in going more natural for health and environmental reasons, but also to support more natural styles in the black hair community which for years has over processed hair with harsh chemicals and heat.

I also admire that the brand supports pro-Black women charities like Love Delivered in conjunction with Mama Glow Foundation which helps bring awareness to the Black maternal health crisis and support Black mothers and their families before, during and after birth.

Promoting The Best Version of You

The mission of TCM Lifestyles is to help all men be the best version of themselves in every aspect of their lives. Their philosophy incorporates an uncompromising approach to living life to the fullest.

I had the pleasure of reviewing five of their products for Beautytap where I currently work and collaborate with many inspiring brands. TCM Lifestyle’s 3 N 1 Shave Glaze is now one of my go-tos. The product line was created out of necessity by Rance John and Terry Armstrong, who saw a market gap in multicultural men’s grooming products.

The two men of color got together and decided “why don’t we do it” and the brand was born from there. Their mission is sharing the importance of being well-groomed and how this enhances and positively impacts self-esteem for men of color.

This is noble work as Black and Brown men, according to Ebony Magazine, “have been conditioned to simply "tough it out" or "man up.” Focusing on self-care or spending money on grooming can fall by the wayside or be seen as weak or a waste of time. On the contrary, there is a mountain of empirical evidence on the psychological advantages of how we look influencing how we feel and how the world sees us.

3 N 1 Shave Glaze is also a Beautytap Award winner, which you can read more about here.

Promoting Empowerment

The mission of Keys Soulcare is simple — they want to empower everyone to shine brighter, both inside and outside.

Created by Alicia Keys and backed by the Elf Cosmetics portfolio, this is a brand that truly wants to shine a light on inner beauty. Keys Soulcare is also focused on philanthropy through The HAPPY Organization, a youth-founded and led 501(c)(3) organization empowering young people through holistic education.

Beautytap was one of the first platforms to review Keys Soulcare products and support their partnership with and entry into Ulta. I personally love the Nourishing Cleansing Balm for both morning and evening routines as it’s very light and gentle. I also appreciate that the brand features aspirational quotes on their products including “I cherish all that I am.”

Keys, who found her way to beauty from her own journey of acne and her no-makeup look, encourages women of color and beyond to truly care for the whole self: body, mind, spirit, and soul.

Promoting the Black American Princess

Kim Kimble’s philosophy is that healthy hair and great style should coexist – her mission is to create products and tools designed to work with a wide range of ethnic hair textures resulting in chic, yet manageable styles.

When the “Queen of Hair” is not working on her multiple businesses, she may be hairstyling for celebrities including Beyonce, Gabrielle Union, Vanessa Williams, Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Kerry Washington, Sanaa Lathan, Garcelle Beauvais, Tarji P. Henson, and Zendaya.

The celebrity stylist and reality TV star comes from a strong legacy of black women. Kimble’s grandmother and mother were also stylists and passed down their methods to her. She started as a shampoo girl in her mom’s salon, before opening her own salon in 1995, followed by her namesake product line.

A staple in Walmart, known for affordability and rose gold packaging, Beautytap and its diverse community of beauty professionals had the pleasure of reviewing over 10 Kim Kimble products on the platform.

I hope these six brands and their missions encourage you to write your own mission statement for life or business, as I truly believe everyone should have one. Again, a mission simply explains what you do and why you do it, helping to clearly define your goals and map out a clear pathway to success.

During Black History Month and all throughout the year I’m reminded of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. whose mission was promoting peace and equality for all.

It is Beautytap’s mission to elevate, support and empower the beauty expert, the content creator, and innovative brands through customized user generated content - including rich, educationally driven reviews, video testimonials, master class education, and editorials while always promoting diversity and inclusivity.

What is your mission statement? Please drop us a comment below and share!