8 Black Women Who Have Helped Make the Beauty Industry a More Welcoming, Inclusive Space

In 2017, Rihanna turned the beauty world upside down with the launch of Fenty Beauty. Fenty Beauty was the first ever make-up brand to offer a foundation range with 40 different shade variations. In addition to this, the brand's campaigns were inclusive, representing all skin tones, sizes, and genders.

In an In an interview with Time magazine shortly after Fenty Beauty was launched, Rihanna said that she "never could have anticipated the emotional connection that women are having with the products and the brand as a whole". Finding the right foundation shade can be a real struggle for most Black and brown people, so it's safe to say that a lot of prayers were answered with the launch of Rihanna's revolutionary brand.

Not even a year after the launch, historic brands such as L'Oréal, Dior, and Cover FX extended their foundation ranges, giving equal consideration to people of colour when it came to their shade offerings. Fenty Beauty was the wake up call that the beauty industry needed to do better. It was impossible for other brands not to follow in RiRi's footsteps.

For the past three decades, Pat McGrath has been creating daring and out-of-the-box makeup looks for nearly every major fashion designer and every major magazine you can think of — looks that have been the source of inspiration for many beauty trends over the past 30 years. She has raised the bar and successfully defined beauty on her own terms. In 2017, she became the first Black woman and makeup artist to receive a Founder's Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) for her outstanding work in the industry.

Vogue magazine has called McGrath "the most influential makeup artist in the world," and in 2019, she was included in Time's 100 Most Influential People list. In 2015, she launched her own line of beauty products called Pat McGrath Labs. The brand quickly became the biggest selling beauty line at Selfridges here in the UK, and at Sephora in the US. Her most recent collaboration with streetwear brand Supreme produced a limited-edition lipstick, which reportedly sold out within 8.6 seconds of going online.

With models including Naomi Campbell, Hailey Baldwin, and Paloma Elsesser as muses, Pat McGrath continues to define and create future trends.

Tracey Norman was the first Black transgender woman to model. At the start of her career, she didn't disclose her identity and was able to work with publications such as Essence, Vogue Italia, and Harper's Bazaar India. In 1975, she appeared on the box of Clairol's Born Beautiful Hair Colour No.512. The shade was one of Clairol's best sellers at the time. In 1980, the truth about her birth gender was discovered by a hairdresser while on a photoshoot. The hairdresser publicly outed her and as a result, companies refused to work with her. After years struggling to find work, Norman became an active figure in the drag ball community.

In 2015, Norman became the subject of a biographical piece written by digital fashion site The Cut. The following year, Clairol signed her up as the face of their 'Nice 'n Easy Color As Real As You Are' campaign. Norman later became one of two openly transgender models to appear on the cover of Harpers Bazaar.

Although her true status remained undetected for some time, it took a lot of courage for Norman to enter the world of modelling, especially at a time when transgender people weren't accepted in society. As attitudes towards the LGBT community have now thankfully changed, the revitalisation of Norman's career was well overdue.

Madam CJ Walker was the first Black woman to become a millionaire in America. Born in 1867 in Delta, Louisiana, she was the child of two former slaves. After her marriage ended, the mother of one's health began to deteriorate. As she started to lose her hair in the 1890's, Walker embarked upon a search for a cure for her hair loss.

In 1904, she launched her own range of hair-care product and straighteners for African American women, Madam Walker's Wonderful Hair Grower. Along with her hair grower, she also launched a product called Glossine, which was a pressing oil and a vegetable shampoo. Walker wanted Black women to know that it was possible to grow their own hair and that there was nothing wrong with them taking pride in themselves and their appearance.

As the business became successful, she began to advocate for Black women's economic independence. She employed 40,000 African American women and men in the US, Central America, and the Caribbean.

Madam CJ Walker paved the way for every Black hair and beauty entrepreneur you see today. She believed women could be successful, independent, and beautiful at the same time — she was a true advocate for Black excellence.

After a decade working as a beauty executive for brands such as Revlon and Benefit Cosmetics, Sharon Chuter knew intimately how Black women were still underrepresented in the beauty community. Because of that, in 2019, she launched UOMA Beauty. The brand features a 51-shade foundation range which also comes in six different formulations. What makes UOMA unique is that there's something for everyone: undertones, skin chemistry, and many other factors were taken into consideration during the formulation process.

Chuter's influence in the beauty industry became evident in June 2020 with the launch of "Pull Up For Change."
The movement was created when she noticed many beauty brands posting black squares on Instagram as a sign of support for #BlackoutTuesday. As a result of this, Chuter challenged companies to share the number of Black people they employ on a corporate level. Within the space of a few weeks, industry giants were disclosing their numbers. Some brands openly acknowledged that there was a lack of representation in their HQ's and that they needed to do better.

When we talk about diversity, a lot of people may think about makeup or advertising, but that's just the beginning. We need to continue to have conversations about inclusivity as a whole without feeling afraid or uncomfortable, and Chuter has played a big part in making this possible.

Ronke Adeyemi is the founder of Brown Beauty Talk, the UK's leading beauty platform aimed at Black women. It all began in 2013 when Adeyemi identified a gap in the market for Black and Asian women to discuss beauty issues. As a result, Brown Beauty Talk was born and #BBT talks took place on Twitter on a weekly basis. The following year, the Brown Beauty Talk website was launched.

For years, the BBT team has featured Black-owned brands on their platforms.
They have also interviewed a number of industry professionals and public figures, and keep their readers hooked with articles such as 'The Beauty Product I Cannot Live Without' and 'What's In My Makeup Bag?'.

In October 2020, Brown Beauty Talk launched the first beauty directory for Black-owned beauty brands. The aim of the directory is for beauty lovers to find products that have been created with black women in mind. The directory features a number of hair-care, skin-care, and makeup brands. A list of online retail sites that stock products for Black-owned businesses is also accessible.

Brown Beauty Talk was recently voted one of the Top Ten Beauty Blogs by Vuelio. What makes the website so special is the fact that it has provided (and continues to provide) Black and Asian women with a safe place to discuss and discover their hair and beauty needs.