Editor’s Picks: 25 of the Best Black-Owned Skincare Brands That You Need to Know About

After launching her highly successful makeup collection in 2017, Rihanna branched out into skincare three years later with Fenty Skin. The pop superstar’s aim is to offer simple solutions for all skin tones and types, using only clean and cruelty-free ingredients.

Editor’s pick: Fenty Skin Fat Water Pore-Refining Toner Serum is a two-in-one toner and serum infused with multitasking niacinamide. That means it will brighten dullness, fade dark spots, minimize pores and control shine—all while delivering lightweight hydration.

Before Alicia Keys famously went bare-faced on the red carpet, she struggled with her acne-prone skin. When she realized it was connected to her stress levels, she became devoted to both skincare and self-care. In 2020, she debuted Keys Soulcare, inspired by her skin journey and love of ancient rituals. Everything was developed with a dermatologist using only clean ingredients.

Editor’s pick: Keys Soulcare Promise Serum is a multitasking serum that helps to control oil, reduce the look of pores, hydrate, calm irritation, and brighten your skin. The key ingredients include niacinamide, zinc and snow mushroom (a plant alternative to hyaluronic acid).

If you’ve been wondering how Pharrell Williams has defied the aging process—he’s 50 years old, but looks a decade or two younger—he’s finally sharing his secrets. He teamed up with his longtime dermatologist, Dr. Elena Jones, to create Humanrace, a line for skin of all types, races and genders.

Editor’s pick: Humanrace Humidifying Cream is a cushiony moisturizer that mimics the effect of humidity on your skin (minus the sweat and shine). It’s silicone-free and fragrance-free, and hydrates with ingredients like squalane, hyaluronic acid and snow mushroom.

Model Winnie Harlow came up for the idea for Cay Skin after an outdoor photo shoot in 2018. Nobody on-set wanted her to reapply sunscreen due to the white cast that would show up on her skin. When she ended up with a bad burn, she knew she had to develop her own line. Now, it includes not only SPF but also hydrating products.

Editor’s pick: Cay Skin Deepwater Lip Mask is a nourishing lip mask that doubles as a daily lip balm. It’s made with vegan ingredients, including shea butter and synthetic beeswax, and has a yummy vanilla and brown sugar flavour.

EleVen by Venus Williams is the brainchild of tennis superstar Venus Williams. In addition to selling activewear, she has teamed up with Credo Beauty on a collection of clean, mineral-based suncare products for all skin tones.

Editor’s pick: EleVen by Venus Williams Game. Set. Match Body Lotion SPF 50 is a moisturizing daily body lotion infused with 9.5% zinc oxide for light sun protection. It’s non-whitening, with a barely-there tint, and is water-resistant for up to 80 minutes.

As the daughter of a Haitian-American father and Japanese mother, tennis pro Naomi Osaka mistakenly assumed that her melanin-rich skin was immune to sun damage. But when she learned the truth, she decided to create KINLÒ, a suncare range for skin of colour.

Editor's pick: KINLÒ Cooling Body Gel Moisturizer is a lightweight body gel that cools, hydrates and soothes your skin after sun exposure. It sinks in within seconds, delivering ingredients like aloe, glycerin and menthol.

Shani Darden Skin Care is the eponymous skincare range by celebrity facialist Shani Darden, whose A-list clientele includes Jessica Alba, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Kelly Rowland. After years of honing her clinical expertise, she developed her own products, including a retinol that quickly became a cult sensation.

Editor’s pick: Shani Darden Retinol Reform combines a gentle, slow-release retinol with brightening lactic acid in a lightweight, silicone-free serum. It treats everything from fine lines to dark spots to breakouts, and has countless celebrity fans. (See my full review here.)

Topicals is the creation of Olamide Olowe and Claudia Teng, two twentysomethings with a background in clinical research and beauty brand-building. Their goal was to create a line of science-backed, clinically-effective products for people experiencing flare-ups from chronic skin conditions.

Editor’s pick: Topicals Faded Brightening & Clearing Serum is a gel-like serum that fades post-acne marks, dark patches and discolourations. It’s loaded with a long list of active ingredients, including niacinamide, tranexamic acid, azelaic acid, kojic acid and licorice root.

ROSE Ingleton MD was developed by Dr. Rosemarie Ingleton, a dermatologist who has tended to the complexions of Chrissy Teigen and Iman. Her streamlined product system addresses discolourations, fine lines, acne, redness and dehydration, and everything is spiked with her signature Jamaican superfruit blend.

Editor’s pick: ROSE Ingleton MD Superfruit Exfoliating Tonic is an exfoliating toner for smoother, brighter, more even-toned skin. The star ingredient is 8% glycolic acid, paired with licorice extract to target pigmentation and skin-soothers to counteract irritation.

As ex-coworkers at Google, Alice Lin Glover and Marie Kouadio Amouzame bonded over their experiences as women of colour, including the struggle to find good skincare. They teamed up to launch EADEM, a line powered by “Smart Melanin Technology” and clinically-tested on melanin-rich skin.

Editor’s pick: EADEM Milk Marvel Dark Spot Serum is a milky serum specifically formulated for skin of colour. It fades dark spots and prevents new ones with a blend of niacinamide, vitamin C and licorice.

Hyper Skin was started by Desiree Verdejo, who couldn’t find a product to address the acne as well as post-acne hyperpigmentation that she battled while pregnant. After two years of development, she came up with a formula that worked, and has now expanded with a mask and a cleanser.

Editor’s pick: Hyper Skin Hyper Even Brightening Dark Spot Vitamin C Serum fades dark spots and prevents breakouts with 15% vitamin C in the form of ethyl ascorbic acid. It’s also high in kojic acid, bearberry and licorice to amplify the brightening effects.

BeautyStat Cosmetics was founded by Ron Robinson, a cosmetic chemist who spent 20 years creating formulas for brands like Clinique, L’Oréal, Revlon and Avon. After realizing that consumers were more confused than ever, he channelled his experience into creating a results-driven skincare line using premium, scientifically-proven ingredients.

Editor’s pick: BeautyStat Universal Microbiome Barrier Balancing Cleanser is a fragrance-free foaming cleanser that deep-cleans without stripping your skin’s moisture barrier. It removes dirt, oil makeup and sunscreen in one step, yet is gentle enough for even sensitive skin.

ROSEN grew out of founder Jamika Martin’s struggles with teenage and adult acne. When she couldn’t find anything that worked—let alone with clean ingredients and cool packaging—she decided to take matters into her own hands.

Editor’s pick: ROSEN Skincare Tropics Toner is one of the brand’s bestsellers, a hydrating toner that prevents dark spots and balances oil production. It contains just five ingredients, including kojic acid to inhibit melanin production and hyaluronic acid to bind moisture.

Epi.Logic is a luxury clinical collection from Dr. Chaneve Jeanniton, a board-certified plastic surgeon specializing in the eye area. Her brand is all about scientifically-proven actives in multitasking formulas that give maximum payoff without irritation.

Editor’s pick: Epi.Logic The Total Package combines peptides, niacinamide and bakuchiol (a plant-based retinol alternative) in a lightweight cream. Not only does it hydrate, it also boosts collagen, brightens hyperpigmentation, and strengthens the skin barrier.

While working as a model in Paris, Congo-born Natacha Paugam couldn’t find skincare products catering to her skin tone and her number one concern: hyperpigmentation. With the help of a dermatologist, she conceived Ustawi, a brand for melanated skin that combines African ingredients with French formulation science.

Editor’s pick: Ustawi Niacinamide Dark Spot Corrector fades and prevents hyperpigmentation with niacinamide, licorice and green tea extract. It’s 95% natural, with a gel texture and a matte finish.