Black Business Month: 5 Black Beauty Brands To Support After The Closure Of Ami Colé
In July, Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye announced that her beauty brand Ami Colé will close in September. As one of the few Black women to have raised more than $1 million in venture capital, N’Diaye-Mbaye’s exit marks a loss not just for beauty lovers, but for Black female founders, too.
Ami Colé had a devoted following, but the brand struggled to compete with industry giants backed by deep-pocketed corporations. “I couldn’t compete with the deep pockets of corporate brands; at retail stores, prime shelf space comes at a price, and we couldn’t afford it,” N’Diaye-Mbaye told The Cut.
Black women receive just 2% of venture capital in the US, and with a ramping up of anti-DEI efforts, this figure doesn’t look like it will increase any time soon. While Ami Colé’s chapter is closing, the need to support Black female founders in beauty is more urgent than ever. Here are five you should know.
Black Girl Sunscreen
Shontay Lundy created BGS, a 30 SPF lotion formulated for women of color in 2026. Lundy recognized the gap in the skincare market and invested $33,000 of her own money to create a product that wouldn’t leave the notorious white residue on darker skin tones. The brand quickly gained traction and was avalaible in 250 50 Target stores by 2019.
Black Girl Sunscreen quickly gained traction, becoming available in 250 Target stores by 2019. The brand expanded its presence to Ulta, Walmart, Kohl’s, and more by 2023. In 2020, it raised $1 million in private funding, valuing the company at $5 million.
Flora & Curl
When Rose Ovensehi stopped chemically treating her hair in 2011 after her scalp was damaged from years of processing and straightening her hair, she saw a bigger picture. She struggled to find the right products to treat her hair, so she made her own.
After formulating her own haircare formulas, Flora & Curl was born. The brand now has online customers in over 70 countries, gaining global traction.
The Lip Bar
The Lip Bar was born out of frustration. Its CEO and founder, Melissa Butler, struggled to find affordable vegan lipsticks in bright colors. She started making and selling vegan lipsticks out of her Brooklyn home in 2013 as a side hustle. In 2015, Butler and her friend and creative director Rosco Spears appeared on Shark Tank to pitch a version of the Lip Bar, but were not successful.
In 2022, the company raised $6.7 million in a round led by Pendulum. It also sold in hundreds of Target Stores across the country.
Topicals
CEO Olamide Olowe founded Topicals in 2020. It has gained prominence for its products that target hyperpigmentation and eczema for women of colour. Through Topicals, Olowe became the youngest Black woman ever to raise $10 million in funding.
It recently acquired Bread Beauty Supply through their holding company, Cost of Doing Business (CODB), which they launched in 2024.
KNC Beauty
During a trip to Japan, former model Kristen Noel Crawley noticed the significant amount of chemical ingredients in the lip masks. She wanted to create a natural alternative, so KNC Beauty was born. It launched in 2016, and the brand includes eye masks, lip scrubs, and balms.
Crawley also founded the KNC School of Beauty, a mentorship program for Black female beauty entrepreneurs. Business of Fashion reports that the company hit annual sales of $1 million by 2020, and the figures have remained relatively consistent.
Image: Gold Owolabi
