Shop Black (and excellently) with these 14 Black-owned brands — Forvr Mood, Briogeo, Bevel and more
Every year during Black History Month, the public is reminded that Black businesses are not second-rate alternatives to their majority white-led counterparts. Rather, these businesses should be held in the same esteem, often originators and creators of some of today’s most high-quality products.
The concept of “shopping Black” should be second nature — and the value and relevancy of Black businesses isn’t isolated to a designated month.
In the spirit of pushing for this level of equality, this list highlights “Black excellence” in business. From Beyoncé’s Ivy Park to the widely successful Uoma Beauty cosmetics brand, these are our favorite Black-owned brands of the moment.
- Bevel by Tristan Walker
Shop: Bevel Double Edge Safety Razor for Men, $49.95
Bevel Double Edge Safety Razor for Men
Bevel, a brand under African-American entrepreneur Tristan Walker’s health and beauty company Walker & Company Brands, stemmed from Walker’s frustration of not finding a razor that worked well with his unique skin and hair texture as a man with textured hair. “Shaving irritation and razor bumps [are] issues some 80% of Black men and women have globally,” he said in an interview with CNN. “If you have curly hair, this is an issue that you’re likely to face.”
Walker founded Walker & Company Brands in 2013, focusing on selling personal care products for Black and brown people. “[My] company really started out of my frustrations of not having products that I could use,” he said. From then, the brand only continued to grow, with the company releasing more products that are mainstays in many people of color’s routines.
- Form by Tristan Walker
Shop: Form Multitask 3-In-1 Leave-In Lotion, $32
The other brainchild of Walker & Company Brands is Form, a line of hair care products for people with coarse, tightly coiled and textured hair. The line offers products at Sephora, including the Multitask Leave-In Lotion, the Polish Pomade, the Define Curl Crème and the Sculpt Curl Gel.
- Pattern by Tracee Ellis Ross
Shop: Pattern Leave-In Conditioner, $25
Tracee Ellis Ross has an iconic mane, so it made sense when the actress launched her own line of hair products. In 2019, the “Black-ish” star launched Pattern. While speaking of the business venture, the Golden Globe award winner said Pattern was 10 years in the making, explaining she created the line to solve “unmet beauty needs that have not been addressed.”
“Moving my attention to an area that people don’t know of me and that was new for me, as a CEO and founder — everything from packaging and the creative vision and all that kind of stuff to the formulas — I feel a little weepy about that part,” she said. Pattern is currently sold in Ulta Beauty stores.
- Bolden Skincare by Chinelo Chidozie and Ndidi Obidoa
Shop: Bolden Skin Clarifying Cleanser, $15.29
Marketed as “skincare for Black and brown girls,” Bolden Skincare was founded by two Black women, Chinelo Chidozie and Ndidi Obidoa. In the Bolden mission statement, the women say it exists “to embolden women like us to confidently embrace their natural beauty.” Each product is “expertly-crafted, responsibly-sourced and tailor-made” to fit the experiences of women of color. Bolden currently has a full range of skincare products including a cleanser, toner, mask, SPF-included moisturizer and treatment to fully cover any skincare routine in its entirety.
