Author: Amber Williams

With the emergence of the natural hair movement and the infiltration of black beauty icons in mainstream media, came the proliferation of black-owned business with a purpose. Ones that used all natural ingredients, employed each other and sought to create solutions to their own beauty conundrums, and, in the process founded businesses. Such acts are worth celebrating and supporting. I recently had the opportunity to review a few of these brands so I’m sharing what I love most about each with you! Remember, if we don’t support black-owned businesses, who will?

Without further adieu, here’s my review of 3 black-owned natural hair and beauty brands that you should know!

Camille Rose Naturals

Camille Rose Naturals

Moisture! Moisture! Moisture! is all I have to say. Hands down, this brand makes the most moisturizing hair products I have come across in my natural hair journey. And they smell soooo good, too. I love everything from the packaging to the easy-to-travel jars that encase the yummy butters. The Almond Jai Twisting Butter and the Aloe Whipped Butter Gel are two of my favorites. They triple as leave-in’s, sealants and stylers for twist-outs, bantu’s or braids. Almond milk, honey and macadamia nut oil are just a few of the ingredients that contribute to their mega moisturizing benefits. My hair is super soft and maintains its length when I use these on freshly-washed hair. A little goes a long way, belles. For wash-n-go’s, I love the Curl Love Moisture Milk. It’s a lightweight version of the butters that you can apply daily when refreshing your ‘fro. It smells of luscious nutty vanilla and is formulated with rice milk and a slew of penetrating oils. The biggest plus? It does not build up … AT ALL! My all time favorite in this line has to be the Algae Renew Deep Conditioning Mask. One 10-minute application of the 65 vitamins and minerals packed in this potion and my dry hair is soft as silk with renewed strength and sheen. Last, but not least, my everyday sealing staple is the Ajani Growth and Shine Balm. Honey, mango and castor oil lock in moisture without leaving my hair greasy.

Amber’s fluffy frohawk using just the Almost Jai Twisting butter as a styler.

Camille Rose Naturals is a 100% MOMpreneur owned and operated company founded in 2010 by Janell Stephens. The name Camille Rose was created to pay homage to Janell’s late grandmother, “the one who taught her how to be a woman that has the poise and ability to wear many hats.” Camille Rose Naturals is dedicated to “developing and marketing hand-made hair, skin and body care products for modern natural hair sophisticates who care about their total health, beauty and wellness.” Products can be found online, in select beauty stores and in Target.

Check out my fluffy frohawk using just the Almost Jai Twisting butter as a styler.

b.a.s.k.

Want your hair strong and smelling good? I recommend b.a.s.k. Their Silk and Honey Latte Detangling Hair Milk is the definition of slip. It is intended to be applied to dry hair for finger detangling prior to washing. I was skeptical at first in its ability to tame and detangle my unruly fro with absolutely zero water spritzes. I was pleasantly surprised to watch my fingers glide through knots with ease. The nectarine vanilla smell is a total bonus to the benefit of entering the shower without a bee’s nest of knots. I got a fabulous protein power punch with the Vanilla Whiskey Repairative Hair Soak. You’ll be surprised by how soft your hair is afterward. If your hair is colored and breaking more than usual, I highly recommend this treatment. The Palm Tapioca Deluxe Hair Cream is a must-have buttercream for type 4 hair. It’s made of premium Cocoa Butter, Cupuacu Butter and Ucuuba Butter and literally sinks into strands better than any buttercream I’ve ever used. The consistency is crazy thick, so a little goes a long way. If you don’t fall in love with b.a.s.k.’ product names, you will with the potent smells of nectarine, vanilla and dessert pudding.

Amber using The Palm Tapioca Deluxe Hair Cream

b.a.s.k. – which stands for “Beauty Assortment for the Sun-Kissed” – provides a line of artisanal, gourmet-themed spa products that range from moisturizing bath treatments to rich, nourishing skin and hair delectables catering to multicultural women. Founded and launched by Rashida Jefferson in Summer 2011 – b.a.s.k. is the result of Rashida’s love for spa pamperings, destination travels, and many years of making her own DIY customized beauty potions using premium ingredients found in her local gourmet food shop. Products can be found online, in select beauty stores and specialty spas.

What do you think of my Palm Tapioca bantu knot-out?

COCOTIQUE

Ask anyone who knows me and they’ll tell you that I prefer a box of beauty products over a box of chocolates any day. The mantra kind of still applies. With any gift box, “you never know whatcha gonna get.” With COCOTIQUE, unlike a chocolate box, you’ll find more than just two consumable favorites. In December, I received a box packed with beauty products that I could actually use – ones that seemed to be tailor-made just for me. Beneath the ultra-chic gold wrapper (which made me feel like a QUEEN) were a Black Opal Color Splurge Patent Lips gloss in (COLOR), Cover FX Anti-Age Smoothing Eye Primer, Curls Coconut Sublime Conditioner, Phyto Specific Moisturizing Styling Cream, Su-Kari Peach Body Butter, and even something for the Mr. – VitaMan Face Moisturizer and Shampoo. The products were definitely high end, and the complete mix of solutions for my face, hair and husband were much appreciated. The Su-Kari Peach Body Butter sample definitely led to a full-size purchase. I had never even heard of the line before. That’s the beauty in beauty boxes – new discoveries and beauty possibilities!

The Psychology of Style

COCOTIQUE Box

COCOTIQUE is a deluxe beauty box subscription service for women of color and diverse ethnicities. Dana Hill, Founder and CEO, created COCOTIQUE to simplify the search and discovery process and save you time and money. Who wouldn’t rather someone else do the shopping for them? $20 a month gets you 5-6 sample-sized beauty products from niche brands. If you love them, you can purchase the full size directly from the COCOTIQUE site. Oh, and don’t forget to read their online magazine for inspiration from their COCOBelle’s of the month and learn about their beauty and fashion COCOObsessions.

What’s your favorite black-owned natural hair or beauty brand?

Disclosure: The lovely ladies at COCOTIQUE, Camille Rose Naturals and b.a.s.k. gifted me with the products mentioned in this article. All opinions expressed are my own, as usual.

“Beautiful” – adjective – pleasing the senses or mind aesthetically. Of a very high standard; excellent.

The very term is subjective in nature. Anyone can interpret its meaning and categorize what and who qualifies. The unfortunate thing is that, for most women, this interpretation and the publicized standard of what it takes to make the cut is largely controlled by the media.

This creates quite a plight for women looking to emulate what may be genetically unattainable. Women of color, plus-sized women, vertically-challenged women and those with facial features not at the forefront of any brand’s makeup campaign have been subject to decades of images that are consistently contrary to how they look.

“How does the offering of unrealizable imagery impact the masses?” one might ask.

Consider the fact that more than just women completely secure with themselves are exposed. Think about the 12-year-old girl with skinny legs, braids and glasses who (of course) wants to be “beautiful” (or at least called it) waiting in the grocery store line with her mother staring at the magazines next to the candy. Does anyone look like her or what she may grow to be? Probably not.

The consequential possibilities of this reality are endless: low self-esteem, a distorted self-image, envy, jealously, resentment, obsession, a feeling of inadequacy, and, worst of all – an overindulgence in the investment of her outer appearance. With so little control over the publishing world, how can we shield young women from society’s standard of beauty?

Amber Williams

Simple. Redefine it.

In actuality, what it means to be beautiful is up to you – and it definitely goes beyond mere aesthetics. We should teach little girls and ourselves that beauty is a theory, for which we have the power to construct from scratch. Looking in the mirror should be an esteem-building exercise, rather than a comparative, flaw-finding one. Isn’t it beautiful that no one on earth has the same fingerprint as us? Or that the curvature in our chins or the sharpness of our cheekbones is uniquely ours? Even twins have their own distinctive features. Individuality and differentiation in itself is beauty. What we see and celebrate, not what we think others see or what we know others to value, is what’s most important. The mind, spirit and soul are not to be ignored in our construction. The way someone treats others, views the world, shines a light and uplifts the next woman equally contributes to her beauty.

The beauty in redefining “beautiful” is that we can all qualify. We can all be so confident in our own excellence that not a single crack in the mirror or comment from another can make us find flaw with our photoshop-free reflection. And we’re totally worth it, don’t you think?

Try telling my girls and me that we aren’t beautiful. We chuckle.

“It’s just hair.”

This is what people say who try to convince themselves that their hair doesn’t somehow speak for them. As if its style, color and texture don’t speak volumes about their personality, creativity, or disposition in general. While I reject the notion that hair completely defines a person, I strongly believe that it says something about one’s state of mind and perhaps about society as a whole.

Take the natural hair movement, for example.

Over the past few years, more and more black women have chosen not to straighten their hair, opting to expose their God-given textures instead. Suddenly, it became accepted and encouraged (envied, even) to rock a ‘fro in public, at church and at work. Being or going “natural” turned into one of the most talked about symbols of authentic beauty in the black community, reaching a true tipping point in adoption.

This curly hair craze is more than just a popular style – it is a movement – one that continues to prompt a dialogue on self-esteem, self-image, beauty standards, child rearing, relationships, religion, career advancement and just about every other social issue you could imagine. Not since the 1960s have black women took so much pride in the unadulterated versions of themselves and used it as ammunition to say something – without having to speak at all.

Today, the movement only continues to grow as natural beauty belles across the country unabashedly expose their waves, curls, kicks and coils to the world. So while some may subscribe to the “It’s just hair” notion, the majority of us don’t. In fact, a cultural shift in behavior is never a “just.” It is always a clear cut statement. And although our reasons and messages are varied, as are our backgrounds and perspectives, one thing is clear:

The natural hair movement is here to stay – demanding recognition but not requiring approval – it dares you to call it anything … but … beautiful.

What statement does your hairstyle make?