Andy JacksonSave this storySave this story
Black hair has historically been both policed and overlooked. Cosmetology training programs have long ignored textured hair in curricula, school dress codes have banned protective styles, and the mainstream hair-care market tends to prioritize products for looser curl patterns. But anti-Blackness and discrimination against Afro-textured hair have only pushed Black people to create what we need to care for our naturally curly and coily textures. The number of Black-owned and -founded hair products on the market has increased over the years, creating more options to care for our hair—and more avenues for sustainable wealth within the community of Black entrepreneurs.
In the early 2000s brands like SheaMoisture, Miss Jessie’s, and Carol’s Daughter paved the way with formulations that worked for a range of natural textures and with marketing that celebrated the beauty of Black hair. Two decades later, more Black-owned natural hair brands are lining shelves with leave-ins, deep conditioning treatments, and oils that nourish, style, and treat our hair. Outside of wash-day staples, now we have a bevy of stylish accessories such as satin-lined turbans and colorful headwraps to protect our delicate coils.
The brands here are owned or founded by Black people, but that doesn’t mean they work only for Black hair—all races and textures can benefit from these products. Take a scroll below through some of the Black-owned and -founded brands and products Allure editors believe deserve a spot in your routine.
Melanin Haircare
Save to wishlist
Melanin Haircare
Multi-Use Softening Leave-In Conditioner
Sephora
You can’t talk about the natural hair movement of the 2000s without mentioning Whitney White. The hair blogger’s YouTube channel, Naptural85, was an invaluable resource for millions of people learning how to style and care for natural hair. In 2018, after years of reviewing other brands’ products and sharing DIY recipes, White launched her own line, Melanin Haircare. The brand’s current product range includes a shampoo, deep conditioner, hair oil, styling cream, deep conditioner, and hair accessories.
Star product: After just one use, you’ll be a fan of the extremely nourishing Multi-Use Softening Leave-In Conditioner. It’s formulated with moisturizing ingredients like aloe vera, argan oil, and baobab seed oil.
Bread Beauty Supply
Save to wishlist
Bread Beauty Supply
Bread Beauty Supply Hair-Foam: Curl Defining Mousse
Ulta Beauty
Sephora
Bread Beauty Supply founder Maeva Heim launched her brand in 2020 with a simple ethos: “Embrace your frizz.” She kept to the basics—shampoo, deep conditioner, and oil—for the initial offerings. Today her collection includes 13 products that are simply great.
Star product: The Hair-Foam: Curl Defining Mousse defines curls without weighing them down or leaving them crunchy. Keratin fibers increase humidity resistance, while glycerin keeps stands hydrated.
Cécred
Save to wishlist
Cécred
Moisturizing Deep Conditioner
Cécred
Many people forget that, long before she was captivating audiences worldwide, Beyoncé was a preteen sweeping up hair in her mother’s Houston salon. With the help of her mom (who goes by Mama Tina), Beyoncé tapped into her love for hair care in 2024 with the launch of Cécred. The line includes a deep conditioning mask, a clarifying shampoo, and a fermented rice protein treatment that got the Allure team buzzing over its innovative packaging—the rice protein powder comes with a shaker bottle to mix the treatment with water and dispense directly onto the hair.
Star product: “The Moisturizing Deep Conditioner is the product I’m recommending to all my friends who want to try Cécred,” says Allure editor in chief Jessica Cruel. It has a luxurious consistency that is heavy-duty enough to moisturize thick coils and curls.
Miche Beauty
Miche Beauty was founded in 2016 by husband-and-wife duo Michelle and Jonathan Ballard. The brand has become a go-to for textured-hair routines thanks to its thoughtfully formulated products, featuring ingredients including aloe vera, honey, and botanical oils. From deeply hydrating conditioners to styling creams that deliver definition without crunch, Miche Beauty’s lineup is designed to simplify wash day while keeping textured hair moisturized and healthy.
Save to wishlist
Miche
Set Gel-to-Foam Styling Mousse
Miche
Star product: Recently the brand has been going viral on TikTok for it’s Set Gel-to-Foam Styling Mousse—known for it’s ability to define curls with a long-lasting yet touchable hold. Don’t believe the hype? Just watch the countless videos of women using it and see that the bouncy, shiny results speak for themselves. Plus, the bestseller is often sold out—though thankfully it’s always available for pre-order.
Donna’s Recipe
Save to wishlist
Donna’s Recipe
Sweet Potato Pie Extra Creamy Hair Cream
Ulta Beauty
Tabitha Brown went viral back in 2020 with her soulful vegan recipes and her soothing auntie-like aura, but her beautiful hair—which took up half the frame in most videos—could not be ignored. Brown shared her hair secrets with the world when she co-founded Donna’s Recipe in 2021 (Donna is the name Brown affectionately calls her hair.)
Star product: Allure editors with textured hair fell in love with the Sweet Potato Pie Extra Creamy Hair Cream. Not only is it deeply moisturizing, but it also elongates curls while providing a lightweight hold. It also smells delicious.
Highbrow Hippie
Founders Kadi Lee and Myka Harris started Highbrow Hippie with a dream to combine their two worlds of hairstyling and wellness. Lee, who is a colorist for celebs like Julia Roberts and Kristin Davis, boasts years of hair care expertise. Harris, an herbalist and brand strategist, brings her business acumen and botanical knowledge. Together, the two created a line that is powered by plants (like Ashwagandha, pea sprout, and Camellia Sinensis flower) and that adds an element of ritual to your hair-care routine.
Save to wishlist
Highbrow Hippie
Root Replenish Active Growth Serum
Highbrow Hippie
Star product: The Root Replenish Active Growth Serum is like a cool drink of water for your scalp—especially when wearing a protective style. Sodium benzoate helps to balance the pH of the scalp by preventing the growth of bacteria and yeast, while rice water hydrates and soothes.
Taliah Waajid
Taliah Waajid knows ball when it comes to natural hair—she started a hair-care business when she was just 14. The cosmetologist fell in love with natural hair care through necessity—her mom refused to perm her hair as a child, forcing her to learn how to manage her curls on her own. What started as obligation grew into a passion project and eventually, a full-fledged brand. Taliah Waajid is praised for its moisture-rich wash essentials, as well as its stylers designed to support healthy, natural hair.
Save to wishlist
Taliah Waajid
Curly Curl Cream
Amazon
Star product: The Curly Curl Cream is a dream for those who have tighter curls and coils and who love to do styles like twist outs and braid outs. Shea butter coats each strand in moisture while the creamy texture provides easy slip for combing and styling.
Pattern Beauty
Save to wishlist
Pattern Beauty
Scalp Serum
Amazon
Nordstrom
Ulta Beauty
Tracee Ellis Ross has always been known for her voluminous curls, so it made perfect sense when she launched her hair-care line, Pattern Beauty, in 2019. “I was dreaming about doing this all through high school,” Ross previously told Allure. The first Pattern Beauty drop included a shampoo, three different conditioners (medium, heavy, and intense), two hair oil serums, a brush, a clip, and a microfiber towel. Ross has since added items like an Afro pick, a scalp serum, and a curl-conscious blow-dryer, and a hand-held steamer.
Star product: The Pattern Beauty Scalp Serum is like a cool drink of water for your scalp. The nozzle tip makes it easy to apply the thin gel, especially if you’re wearing a protective style. The peppermint and rosemary oil help to soothe and offer a light botanical scent.
Dizziak
With five different textures on her head, founder and former journalist, Loretta De Feo, started Dizziak in 2018 because she couldn’t find any products that worked for her. The London-based brand boasts formulas that hydrate the hair, promoting healthy strands that look and feel good. The tightly-edited product range has amassed a following of many British it-girls, including Dua Lipa, who discovered the range after dying her hair red. The singer loved it so much, she signed on as an investor.
Save to wishlist
Dizziak
Deep Conditioner
Dizziak
Star product: The Deep Conditioner is chockfull of nourishing ingredients including aloe vera, argan oil, babassu oil, castor oil, and quinoa protein. A healthy squeeze of the sleek tube produces a rich cream that, when applied to wet hair, deeply moisturizes for soft strands.
TPH by Taraji
Save to wishlist
TPH By Taraji
Slick Edge Control
Sally Beauty
Like many people, Taraji P. Henson got very into self-care during the pandemic. In 2020, she turned that passion into TPH by Taraji. The beauty line includes hair- and body-care products such as the New Levelz conditioner, the Master Cleanse scalp wash, and the Anything Glows body oil.
Star Product: The Slick Edge Control is perfect for touching up edges on the go. The tube packaging makes it easy to bring anywhere, and the flat top makes it great for creating those time-consuming, protective styles. Instead of squeezing out the gel multiple times, you can squeeze out a lot of product to sit on the flat surface of the cap for fast and easy use.
Sienna Naturals
Save to wishlist
Sienna Naturals
Dew Magic Leave-In Conditioner
Credo Beauty
Revolve
For years, Issa Rae tested products for her sister-in-law Hannah Diop’s hair-care brand, Sienna Naturals, which launched in 2012. In 2020, Rae joined Diop as co-owner, just in time for a rebrand. The company makes plant-based products for all types of natural hair textures.
Star product: The Dew Magic Leave-In Conditioner has a lightweight, milky texture that sinks into the hair and adds moisture to even the coarsest textures.
The Doux
Save to wishlist
The Doux
Big Poppa Defining Gel
Amazon
Walmart
Maya and Brian Smith were high-school sweethearts before becoming business partners and cofounders of The Doux. Maya, a licensed cosmetologist, opened her first salon in Germany in 2008 while her husband was stationed there in the military. Three years later, when they relocated back to Atlanta, the couple launched The Doux. The brand is best known for products that create well-defined, long-lasting styles like twist-outs and wash-n-gos.
Star product: The Doux Big Poppa Define Gel is one of the brand’s most popular items—it even won a Best of Beauty award in 2022. It defines curls and coils with a non-flaky hold while nourishing hair with glycerin.
Design Essentials
Save to wishlist
Design Essentials
Almond & Avocado Curl Enhancing Mousse
Amazon
Ulta Beauty
A mainstay in many salons that specialize in textured hairstyling, Design Essentials has all you need to properly care for every curl pattern. Entrepreneur Cornell McBride launched the Design Essentials hair-care system in 1990 after years of working in the health- and beauty-aids industry. The brand now offers a wide range of products you can shop based on curl type, hair needs, and ingrediens. There really is something for everyone.
Star product: A quality mousse is a necessary tool in every naturalist’s arsenal. In our opinion, it doesn’t get better than the Almond & Avocado Curl Enhancing Mousse, which keeps frizz at bay, defines curls, and adds a light sheen.
Adwoa Beauty
Save to wishlist
Adwoa Beauty
Baomint Moisturizing Curl Defining Gel
Amazon
Sephora
Founder Julian Addo named her hair-care brand after her Ghanaian traditional name, Adwoa. Addo began her career in hairstyling when she was just 14 years old and over two decades, later launched Adwoa Beauty in 2017. While natural hair has many needs, Adwoa Beauty recognizes that moisture is high on that list. Each product contains moisture-boosting and -sealing ingredients like glycerin, baobab oil, blue tansy, and shea butter.
Star product: We love the Baomint Moisturizing Curl Defining Gel so much that we gave it an Allure Best of Beauty Award in 2022. The lightweight gel adds definition to curls without leaving flaky residue.
Charlotte Mensah
Save to wishlist
Charlotte Mensah
Manketti Hair Oil
Dermstore
This Ghanaian-owned hair-care brand is as luxe as it gets. Founder Charlotte Mensah is an acclaimed British hairstylist and owner of Hair Lounge in London, so when she launched her brand in 2016, it was no surprise that the hair-care line quickly became popular, especially in England. The brand’s Manketti Oil range features six simple products that will take you through your entire wash day, transforming it from a chore into a luxurious ritual.
Star product: The Manketti Oil is a rich formula that locks in moisture when used on wet hair and adds shine to dry hair after styling.
Camille Rose
Save to wishlist
Camille Rose
Curl Maker Defining Gel
Ulta Beauty
Amazon
Janell Stephens started Camille Rose in her kitchen to address the eczema on her children’s skin and scalp. In just three years, Stephens grew the brand, entering retail partnerships with stores like Target, Sally Beauty, CVS, and Ulta Beauty. There’s a Camille Rose product for every hair concern: The brand’s vast product range focuses on dryness, breakage, and dullness. The styling line’s gels, mousses, and leave-ins are sure to upgrade your favorite natural hairstyles.
Star product: The Camille Rose Curl Maker is the secret weapon for your twist-out needs. The lightweight gel defines curls while adding a soft hold.
TGIN
Save to wishlist
TGIN
Honey Miracle Hair Mask
Ulta Beauty
After getting a law degree from Harvard, Chris-Tia Donaldson pivoted to her passion for beauty, starting TGIN (Thank God It’s Natural) in 2009. The brand, now helmed by CEO Aris Singleton, is sold at retailers like CVS, Sally Beauty, and Target. TGIN may be a bit more low-key in profile, but if you’re in the know, you know how effective its products are.
Star product: The Honey Miracle Hair Mask is great for thirsty strands that need a healthy dose of moisture. Raw honey and jojoba oil give hair deep nourishment that lasts long after wash day.
Briogeo
Save to wishlist
Briogeo
Don’t Despair, Repair! Super Moisture Conditioner
Nordstrom
Ulta Beauty
Dermstore
You’ve probably seen the Black-founded hair-care brand Briogeo while walking down the aisles of Sephora or Ulta Beauty. Wella acquired Briogeo in 2023, but founder Nancy Twine stayed on as CEO, continuing her involvement with the brand and championing its mission for women of color. Briogeo is known for formulating solution-based products, leaving out potentially concerning ingredients such as microplastics and aerosols.
Star product: The Don’t Despair, Repair! Super Moisture Conditioner won an Allure Best of Beauty Award in 2021 (and has won our Readers’ Choice Awards six times) for its moisture-packed formula that is chock-full of amino acid-rich marine algae extract.
Leave a Reply