Black History Month: A brief history in beauty
In the 1940’s, the first cosmetic products marketed towards black women came about in the industry. Sadly, these products were still very geared towards “skin lightening” techniques that were being pushed during this era of prevalent racism.
In the 1960’s, Eunice Johnson, the founder of Ebony Fashion Fair (a traveling fashion show) realized that her models couldn’t find the right shades of products for any of their cosmetics. She attempted to speak with major brands and express their dissatisfaction with the tones offered but were met with a ton of resistance from these brands.
Eunice Johnson took it upon herself to address the clear needs of black women all over the world for more accurate skin tones in cosmetics. “Fashion Fair Cosmetics” was officially created in 1973!
The newly founded brand gained so much popularity in the market that she created even more beauty products aimed towards black beauty like hair and skincare products. Cosmetic brands didn’t catch up with this need for more inclusive shades until a few decades later. Brands like Mac and Nars eventually caught up and started offering those inclusive shades but there was still a very apparent need for an even wider range of products that considered women of all skin tones.
A revolutionary brand called Fenty Beauty was started by Popstar Rihanna in 2017. Her goal was to create the most inclusive cosmetics brand that existed on the market. She accomplished this by releasing 50 shades of foundation bringing the most diverse selection to the beauty industry to date. While accomplishing this, Rihanna didn’t stop there. She made sure to continue her message and include women of all colors, sizes and genders in all of her promotions and marketing endeavors.
With all of Fenty Beauty’s success in recent years we still acknowledge that there is definitely more room for the beauty industry to grow in terms of diversity and inclusion. Every year we are seeing more black-owned cosmetics brands and products emerging and promoting women’s beauty no matter what shade of your skin!
References:
(Unknown, FROM FASHION FAIR, THE FIRST BLACK MAKEUP BRAND TO FENTY BEAUTY 2020)
(Solly, The History Of Racism in America 2020)