In the wake of George Floyd, Ahmuad Arbery and Breonna Taylor's senseless deaths, you might be wondering where to focus your efforts to make an impactful change. The influx of information and resources can be overwhelming, but supporting black-owned businesses is a great place to start.
Here, we're sharing 10 black-owned haircare brands to keep top-of-mind mind next time you're looking for products.
1. TGIN (Thank God It's Natural)
Chris-Tia Donaldson is the founder and CEO of Thank God It’s Natural (TGIN), a manufacturer of natural hair and skin care products. In 2015, Chris-Tia was diagnosed with breast cancer. During her treatment, she learned that having money could make the difference between living and dying when it came to treating cancer. In her observation, few organizations existed that provided support and social services to help women with transportation, child care, parking, or seeking disability leave from their place of employment. Today, she uses her success in the beauty space to advocate for women experiencing financial difficulties, who are undergoing treatment, to highlight health disparities due to race and socio-economic factors, and to empower women to listen to their bodies through the tgin Foundation.
Mielle Organics launched in 2014 with their first product, the Advanced Hair Formula, a unique proprietary blend of herbs, amino acids and minerals to support healthy hair, skin and nails, and immune system. The brand's founder, Monique Rodriguez, has over 9 years of experience as a registered nurse. Her background in science and focus on health from the inside out inspired Monique to share her regimen of healthy hair with the masses.
3. Briogeo
Briogeo's founder Nancy Twine moved to New York City in her early twenties and quickly realized that the natural hair care on the market did not live up to its performance claims. In her East Village studio apartment, armed with her grandmother's coveted beauty recipes and a natural chemist team, Nancy founded Briogeo Hair Care.
4. CURLS
"I had a vision that women would be able to go to any retailer and find incredibly functional products, with quality ingredients, that celebrate our various curl patterns," says CURLS founder Mahisha Dellinger. Frustrated with the lack of products for natural, curly hair, Mahisha worked to develop an award-winning line of organic hair care products in 2002. In addition to running CURLS Beauty Brands, Mahisha dedicates her time to helping other women of color succeed in the business landscape.
5. MoKnowsHair
Monica Stevens launched the MoKnowsHair Curl Collection with the intent of taking the mystery out of natural hair. "Each product is formulated with botanical extracts such as chamomile, rosehip and lavender to nourish, essential oils like apricot, Abyssinian and Argan, butters like mango and cupuacu to enhance manageability, and powerful proteins like quinoa and hydrolyzed wheat protein to repair and improve elasticity, ultimately restoring scalp and curls to their optimal health," Stevens told NaturallyCurly.com in a 2019 interview.
Founded in 2015 by Whitney and Taffeta White, Melanin Haircare is rooted in passion for natural haircare, healthy scalp care and natural and safe ingredients.
7. Glow by Daye
Ranay Daye founded Glow by Daye after becoming increasingly tired of doing all of the necessary things for optimal hair health. Daye wanted better quality when it came to meeting her hair needs—such as deep conditioning more effectively, maintaining moisture, preserving her current hairstyle, or help with styling my hair naturally—and so Glow by Daye came to life.