There are so many amazing Black Women in the beauty industry doing phenomenal things. Today we want to celebrate some of the beauty powerhouses of Nigerian descent in the United States of America. Sweeter Juice Skin Founders are also of Nigerian descent with myself, Olunife, growing up in the US and being a Nigerian-American. I've been admiring some of these women and their accomplishments for years. I am so honored to be able to celebrate their success. My mind is blown witnessing all of the impact they have made in the industry. They've created their own mark and lanes in the beauty industry whether as youtube gurus, beauty and skincare founders and women forcing change in an industry that has often times left the needs of Black people out as a whole. I am sending all of my flowers and homage to each of them.
We will continue to celebrate them and appreciate the diverse cultures Black women in the beauty industry come from around the world. Here are the beauty powerhouses of Nigerian descent we celebrate today:
Jackie Aina – Jacquelyn Lonje Olayiwola Oyeshola Bolayemi Aina, better known as Jackie Aina, is a Nigerian YouTube superstar known for her advocacy for dark skin tones in makeup lines, skincare, and other forms of media and business.
Born to an African-American mother and Nigerian father with Yoruba ancestry, Jackie has risen to popularity and has become a household name through deals with Anastasia Beverly Hills, Sigma Beauty. Aina recently launched her self care brand, Forvr Mood, that premiered with fragrant candles and can also be found at Sephora.
Sharon Chuter – Growing up in Nigeria, Sharon noticed that the Nigerian market rarely had major brands available for women, and that there were very scarce options for makeup that fit her skin tone. She decided to start beauty brand UOMA in 2019, a brand that supported authenticity and encouraged people to be their true selves.
Uoma, meaning “beautiful” offers a wide variety of makeup items for a diverse group of skin tones. They’ve grown incredibly fast in the past two years, and she has also started a campaign, "Pull Up For Change" in the midst of America’s racial reckoning that heightened awareness that many brands seemed to have a shallow role in acknowledging how they contribute to racial injustice, seemingly putting on a front. The campaign challenges brands to reveal how many Black people they employ on a corporate level and in general leadership roles, and encourages them to get more Black brands in retail and fill these roles with Black representation. As a result, some brands have been moved to make changes within their ranks and to create more diversity in only a short period of time. Good on her for taking them to task!
Christina Funke Tegbe – Founder of the skincare brand 54 Thrones, Christina Tegbe grew up with a deep connection to her Nigerian heritage thanks to her Nigerian grandmother, who often sent her body butters straight from Africa and formulated with ingredients from the continent.
After traveling through the African diaspora and visiting several countries, Christina was inspired to quit her job as a management consultant to pursue her dream of bringing her love for Africa to the world and launched 54 Thrones in 2016. Her line includes a host of body butters, face and body oils, soaps, and more inspired by African beauty secrets. In 2020, her body butter hero products were selected to be on Oprah's favorite things list. 54 Thrones also launched their Beauty Butters online last week through the Sephora Accelerate 2021 program, a minority focused program started to increase Sephora's Black owned brands to 15%, and in their early stages, only accepted Black people and people of color.
Olamide Olowe – Olamide Olowe is the co-founder of Topicals, an eczema and hyperpigmentation centered skincare line launched earlier this year that caters to those with sensitive skin types. She and her co-founder grew up with chronic skin disorders, with her having post barbae folliculitis and her partner having chronic eczema.
Olamide faced several obstacles as a Black woman looking to find backing for her vision in this industry, but through her more than adequate qualifications, she managed to get some on board with her idea to transform the way taboo skin conditions are viewed by the public on socials and in real life. Topicals was also launched through Sephora earlier this year as part of Sephora's Accelerator Program.
ChiChi Eburu – ChiChi Eburu is the founder and CEO of Juvia’s Place, a makeup line she launched in 2014. Growing up in Nigeria, ChiChi noticed from childhood onwards that there was a lack of Black representation in beauty, even though a lot of the beauty industry’s support came from Black women. Makeup was hard to find in her skin tone, and she often spent an ample amount of time going through foundations that made her look chalky, muted, and gray. So began, Juvia’s Place.
According to ChiChi, she created this line to honor and celebrate the beauty of the rebels, rulers, and kingdoms that stood long ago and to emulate their beauty and techniques through her products. She also has a skincare line she recently launched, Juvia's Skin.
Ezenne – Sk+N/Muse is a clean beauty brand that is on a mission to elevate the beauty experience of the everyday Black woman. They have an impressive line of body butters, oils, and candles that promise to hydrate and promote beautiful skin and soothe the sense. They use clean ingredients sourced from small businesses and the shea butter they use in all their products is sourced directly from West Africa.
Sk+N/Muse was started by Ezenne, the founder and CEO, who was inspired and taught everything she knows about holistic remedies by her grandmother, Ifeyinwa. She was also recently featured on Beyonce’s website and won a 50K grant from Glossier recently as well! Congratulations to her!
Now, although I know we said Nigerian descent, we can't leave out the Beauty Powerhouses that hail from other parts of the continent. Our special mentions go to:
Julian Addo – Julian is the founder and CEO of Adwoa Beauty. Adwoa Beauty is a haircare line that caters to all types of diverse curls and kinks alike. It is gender neutral and its foundation lies in the African sourced ingredients used in their products.
Julian was born in Monrovia, Liberia to a Ghanan father and Liberian mother and began mastering her craft in her mother’s basement. After owning her own salons, and working in banking, Julian noticed that the way the media portrayed diversity was often inaccurate. Multi-cultural beauty was often unrealistic in the way it was represented and she sought to launch Adwoa Beauty as an answer to set the record straight. Adowa Beauty can also be found at Sephora.
Abena Boamah – Born and raised in Ghana, Abena recently launched Hanahana Beauty in August 2020, although she has been building a community around her shea butter since 2017. Abena wanted her brand to uplift black women by creating consistent income and healthcare for the shea butter producers back in her homeland.
She was tired of not knowing what was in her skin products and inspired by the constant use of shea in her home, launched Hanahana. Abena values transparency when it comes to ingredients and environmental practices, which why all her shea butter-based products are sourced from Katariga Women's Shea Cooperative in Ghana.
Marie Kouadio Amouzame – Hailing from the Ivory Coast, Marie is the co-founder of Black owned beauty brand, Eadem. Eadem is a vegan fragrance-free brand that has pledged to only use effective melanin-loving ingredients and boasts a first-of-its-kind dark spot serum developed with melanin-smart technology.
Marie noticed that Black women were constantly an afterthought in the industry and sought to create a brand that would push beyond tokenism and celebrate melanin instead of seeing it as a hinderance. Eadem was also a participant in the Sephora Accelerate program and they also launched earlier this year in Sephora stores!
These talented and determined women who refused to go along with the unfair treatment the industry promotes are exactly what we need more of to further progress. They refuse to allow their non-Black counterparts to tell them what is beautiful and it’s important to have leaders so the younger generation can have examples to emulate. We at Sweeter Juice Skin cannot wait to get where all these ladies are and hope that we’ll someday become a beacon for young Black men and women alike.
Did we leave out your favorite beauty brand? Tell us all about them at hello@sweeterjuiceskin.com!
