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black owned skincare brands 2021
Images courtesy of Humanrace, Luv Scrub, and Keys Soulcare//Hearst Owned

32 Black-Owned Skincare Brands to Shop Year-Round

Add these expert-approved favorites to your rotation.

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For people of color and beauty lovers in general, Black-owned skincare brands provide a wide range of elevated products for face and body—from manuka honey cleansers and oil-regulating face masks to nourishing body oils and nearly invisible sunscreens—that are worthy of any medicine cabinet or countertop. It's no secret that celebration and promotion of these trailblazing companies has been scarce within the beauty industry for years, but with recent uprisings and a closer examination of the racial relations that sparked globally during the pandemic, Black-owned beauty is finally getting its well-deserved time in the limelight.

Shop the Best Black-Owned Skincare Brands

  • Oui the People

    Oui the People

    $134 at OUI the people
    Read more
  • Keys Soulcare
  • AbsoluteJoi
  • KNC Beauty
  • Rosen Skincare

Contrary to what some shoppers may believe, most Black-owned brands create beauty products that cater to everyone, with special emphasis placed on the cosmetic needs of Black and Brown people who have been underserved for years. While the beauty landscape is currently flooded with a slew of celebrity lines—stars like Alicia Keys, Pharrell Williams, Venus Williams, and others have launched thoughtful skincare brands that serve a greater purpose through their incorporation of clean ingredients, wellness, and sustainability—there are under-the-radar brands to know too.

To honor and support a few notable Black-owned skincare brands, we've rounded up a short list of beloved and up-and-coming companies, like Oui the People and AbsoluteJoi, which are leaving their mark on the beauty industry while enhancing our complexions. Here, 32 of the best Black-owned skincare products and tools to shop now and keep on your radar for all time.


Oui the People

Oui the People

Oui the People

Now 10% Off
$134 at OUI the people
Credit: Oui the People

Best known for its effective yet gentle single-blade razors, Oui the People was born in 2015 out of founder Karen Young's desire to create body care products with sensitive skin in mind. Since the brand's official debut, Oui the People has expanded its offerings to incorporate a wider collection of essentials and tools, including bikini sheet masks, bath soaks, and even a glycolic- and lactic-based body serum.

Featured item: Shave Starter Set

Keys Soulcare

Keys Soulcare

Keys Soulcare

Credit: Keys Soulcare

A love of ancient beauty rituals and the ups and downs of her own skincare journey inspired singer Alicia Keys to launch Keys Soulcare, a skincare and wellness brand that's rooted in self-love and positivity. Keys Soulcare takes the application of your daily skin care routine a step further by tying each of its products to a special icon and affirmation that also encourages its users to reflect and decompress.

Featured item: Golden Cleanser with Manuka Honey

Keys Soulcare is also available to shop at Ulta.

AbsoluteJoi

AbsoluteJoi

AbsoluteJoi

Now 50% Off
Credit: AbsoluteJoi

AbsoluteJoi is a brand created by Dr. Anne Beal, a medical researcher and a former biopharmaceutical executive who saw a need for clean, science-backed skincare that addressed common issues for skin of color. AbsoluteJoi's products are fragrance free and aim to reduce skin inflammation that can contribute to signs of aging and hyperpigmentation.

Featured item: Skin Refining Night Oil with Retinol

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KNC Beauty

KNC Beauty

KNC Beauty

Credit: KNC Beauty

KNC Beauty is named after its founder and entrepreneur Kristen Noel Crawley, and has become a celeb- and makeup artist-loved beauty line thanks to its wildly popular (and extremely Instagrammable) lip and eye masks. Crawley created KNC Beauty after a visit to Japan that inspired her to formulate natural, collagen-based products that are not only fun to use, but also expertly prep and condition the skin.

Featured item: Supa Scrub Set

KNC Beauty is also available to shop at Violet Grey, Net-a-Porter, Madewell, Revolve, FWRD, and Sephora.

Rosen Skincare

Rosen Skincare

Rosen Skincare

Credit: Rosen Skincare

Acne-prone skin types, this one's for you: From discoloration to inflamed zits, Rosen Skincare's products cover all the bases when it comes to dealing with breakouts. The brand uses a treasure trove of clean, natural ingredients like coconut and radish root ferment, pineapple enzymes, and more to create its products. Rosen Skincare also makes it easy for customers to stick to a regimen through their choice of a pre-set four-step routine that focuses on improving texture, pimples and pustules, or old acne scars.

Featured item: Earth Mask

Rosen Skincare is also available to shop at Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters, and Target.

BeautyStat

BeautyStat

BeautyStat

Credit: BeautyStat

Created by cosmetic chemist Ron Robinson, BeautyStat initially started as an online community that connected people with beauty experts. Since its launch in 2019, the brand has grown to develop one of the first pure and stable vitamin C serums—which contains 20 percent of the ingredient—as well as other coveted skincare basics like microbiome-balancing cleansers, moisturizers, and this coveted brightening eye cream.

Featured item: Universal C Eye Protector

BeautyStat is also available to shop at Dermstore, Bluemercury, and Revolve.

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Humanrace

Humanrace

Humanrace

Credit: Humanrace

Artist and producer Pharrell Williams's buzzy product company, Humanrace, is an extension of his popular apparel line and is made with an eco-friendly and nonbinary approach to beauty. Featuring standout green packaging and a curated three-product offering—which includes a cleanser, exfoliator, and moisturizer—Humanrace aims to simplify your skincare routine while placing self-care at the forefront. The brand is also sustainable, as it operates on a refill system to minimize unnecessary waste.

Featured item: Rice Powder Cleanser

Humanrace is also available to shop at Thirteen Lune, SSENSE and Goop.

Rose Ingleton MD Skincare

Rose Ingleton MD Skincare

Rose Ingleton MD Skincare

Credit: Rose Ingleton MD

Dr. Rose Ingleton started her namesake brand in an effort to directly translate the beauty of her native Jamaica into her work as a dermatologist. The brand delivers simple and effective skincare products that combine a range of potent Jamaican-based ingredients like bilberry and sugarcane with skincare staples like hyaluronic acid for brighter, more radiant skin.

Featured item: Complexion Brightening Booster

Rose Ingleton MD is also available to shop at Sephora, Net-A-Porter, Violet Grey, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Revolve.

Eadem

Eadem

Eadem

Credit: Eadem

Beloved by beauty enthusiasts and tastemakers, Eadem started as a lifestyle blog aiming to foster an online community for people of color. Now, as a beauty brand, the company maintains the same community ethos by developing products, like their culty Milk Marvel Dark Spot Serum, to meet the specific needs of melanated skin of all types.

Featured item: Milk Marvel Dark Spot Serum

Eadem is also available to shop at Sephora.

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Epi.Logic

Epi.Logic

Epi.Logic

Credit: Epi.logic

Brooklyn-based oculofacial plastic surgeon Dr. Chaneve Jeanniton's brand Epi.Logic features streamlined, paraben-, and fragrance-free essentials that are gentle enough for sensitive and post-treatment skin. It uses science-backed research and efficacious ingredients, like niacinamide, squalane, and ferulic acid, for maximum skin impact.

Featured item: Master Plan Collagen Renew Growth Factor Serum

Epi.Logic is also available to shop at Violet Grey.

EleVen by Venus Williams

EleVen by Venus Williams

EleVen by Venus Williams

Credit: Eleven by Venus

Is there anything tennis icon Venus Williams can't do? In addition to collecting a number of sports titles and awards, and launching her own clothing brand, EleVen by Venus Williams, the athlete is also the mastermind behind her self-titled—and suncare-focused—skincare line. The skincare line within EleVen by Venus Williams includes a mineral broad-spectrum SPF 35 sunscreen that's optimized for skin of color, plus four SPF 15 balms to keep lips moisturized.

Featured item: Game Day Perfect Form Lip Balm SPF 15

EleVen by Venus Williams is also available to shop at Credo Beauty, Thirteen Lune, Nordstrom, and Ulta.

Cay Skin

Cay Skin

Cay Skin

Credit: Cay Skin

Created by supermodel Winnie Harlow, sun care brand Cay Skin offers a range of sensitive skin-friendly face and body essentials with vegan, reef-friendly formulas. Each product contains a blend of island-sourced ingredients, like sea moss, plus actives like niacinamide, and more.

Featured item: Isle Nourishing Body Mist SPF 50

Cay Skin is also available to shop at Sephora.

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Bolden Skincare

Bolden Skincare

Bolden Skincare

Now 53% Off
Credit: Bolden Skincare

In an effort to celebrate their own natural beauty and women around the world, Bolden Skincare (adapted from the word "embolden") founders Chinelo and Ndidi reconnected years after meeting each other as children at boarding school in Nigeria to develop their coveted brand. In addition to their collection of brightening and acne-fighting products, like Bolden's Overnight Spot Treatment and Skin Brightening Toner, the brand also carries a range of shea butter oils for face and body.

Featured item: Brightening Glycolic Acid Toner

Bolden Skincare is also available to shop on Amazon.

Hanahana Beauty

Hanahana Beauty

Hanahana Beauty

Credit: Hanahana Beauty

Hanahana Beauty is probably best known for its highly nourishing and Ghanaian-sourced shea body butter, and recently expanded its offerings to include a range of products just for the face—from this exfoliating cleanser to a water-activated face mask.

Featured item: Black + Brown Exfoliating Cleanser

Hanahana Beauty is also available to shop at Ulta.

Kaike

Kaike

Kaike

Credit: Kaike

Each plant-based product from Kaike (which is pronounced like "cake") is intended to celebrate the skin you're in, and developed for multiuse purposes to address issues directly relating to skin of color. Kaike creates face and body essentials for just about every skin type, including dry, oily, acne-prone, mature, and sensitive skin.

Featured item: Lip Frosting

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UnSun Cosmetics

UnSun Cosmetics

UnSun Cosmetics

Credit: UnSun Cosmetics

Founded by Katonya Breaux (who also happens to be singer Frank Ocean's mom), UnSun Cosmetics made its mark in the beauty industry starting in 2016 by creating an offering of sunscreen products that are optimized for melanated skin. The brand has since expanded its product selection with a range of SPF body highlighters, hand cream, and a deeply hydrating face and body butter.

Featured item: Golden Angel Face and Body Highlighter SPF 15

UnSun is also available to shop at Dermstore and Revolve.

S'Able Labs

S'Able Labs

S'Able Labs

Credit: S'Able Labs

Co-founded by Sabrina Elba and her husband—you may have heard of him, Idris?—S'Able Labs pairs sustainable packaging with easy-to-trace ingredients and formulas that work for just about any skin type.

Featured item: Qasil Exfoliating Mask

Hyper Skin

Hyper Skin

Hyper Skin

Now 73% Off
Credit: Hyper Skin

Hyper Skin founder Desiree Verdejo—who has dealt with acne and dark spots since her teen years—launched the skincare brand in an effort to create effective formulas that treat a wider number of skin tones and types. The brand's best-selling Brightening Dark Spot Vitamin C Serum uses a hefty 15 percent of the ingredient, plus a blend of bearberry, licorice, and salicylic acid to minimize dark spots while preventing future breakouts from occurring.

Featured item: Brightening Dark Spot Vitamin C Serum

Hyper Skin is also available to shop at Sephora.

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Base Butter

Base Butter

Base Butter

Now 48% Off
Credit: Base Butter

Base Butter started as a passion project in 2015 for founders She'Neil Spence and Nicolette Graves as a solution to manage their own oily and acne-prone skin. The brand's top-rated Radiate Face Jelly Balancing Daily Gel Moisturizer uses a water base and other natural ingredients, like beta-carotene and vitamins C and E, to hydrate and balance skin without clogging pores or contributing to breakouts.

Featured item: Radiate Face Jelly Balancing Daily Gel Moisturizer

Base Butter is also available to shop at Madewell, Urban Outfitters, and Design Milk.

Buttah Skin

Buttah Skin

Buttah Skin

Now 56% Off
Credit: Buttah Skin

Founded by actor and model Dorion Renaud in 2018, Buttah Skin was created to target dryness, discoloration, and breakouts while ultimately helping people of color find confidence in their skin. Each Buttah Skin product contains organic African shea butter to boost skin's radiance and provide long lasting moisture.

Featured item: Vitamin C Serum

Buttah Skin is also available to shop at Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, and Cult Beauty.

Lettermark
Tiffany Dodson
Associate Beauty Commerce Editor

Tiffany Dodson is currently the associate beauty commerce editor at Harper’s Bazaar, where she specializes in trend forecasting, building relationships with major and emerging brands, and crafting shopping stories—from holiday gift guides to product road tests. Tiffany's work has previously been featured in outlets like SELF, Bustle, and Teen Vogue, and she's been quoted as a commerce and beauty expert in publications and platforms like The Business of Fashion and NPR’s Life Kit podcast.

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