10 African Beauty Brands That’ll Give You The Healthiest Skin (& Hair) Of Your Life!
Ever heard of the term A-Beauty? It’s short for African Beauty, and it’s been hailed as the next K- or J-Beauty of skincare. Formerly, African Beauty was somewhat of an underdog in the realm of skincare — a market historically dominated and led by luxury European powerhouses. But in the last three years or so, we’ve seen a huge surge in indie and “born-digital” beauty labels, with A-Beauty cementing its mark and influence in the international cosmetics space. From shea butter, rooibos, rhassoul clay, baobab, marula, and argan oil — these are just a few of the many indigenous (and game-changing) beauty ingredients that the continent has to offer, and some are probably already staples in your bathroom cabinets RN.
Scroll down as we spotlight some of our fave A-Beauty brand names who are shining light on Africa’s rich beauty heritage, practices, and homegrown ingredients with nurturing beauty blends that’ll give you the healthiest and most radiant skin (and hair) of your life!
54 Thrones
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Based in: The US.
African roots: Inspired by childhood memories of her Nigerian aunt’s skin-pampering beauty rituals, founder Christina Funke Tegbe forged 54 Thrones, a clean beauty African brand that’s bringing focus on ‘the richness, diversity, and cultures of the continent and its people.’ All key ingredients included in their indulgent face and body blends are homegrown, like Ghanian baobab and Moroccan argan oils, to create a collection of rich, sustainably harvested skin solutions that nourish, protect and heal, made in collaboration with African artisans.
Bestseller: Egyptian Lavender + Moroccan Mint Beauty Butter, $24.
Epara
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Based in: The UK.
African roots: After years of struggling to find luxury skincare products tailored for women of color and their unique skincare needs, founder Ozohu Adoh formed Epara. A range of opulent formulations made with the continent’s most esteemed botanicals and essential oils to concoct hyperpigmentation and hydration saviors for a skin glow-up like no other.
Bestseller: Cleansing Lotion, $56.
LUV SCRUB
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Based in: The US.
African roots: If you grew up in an African household, you probably know all about the mesh exfoliating nets that our grannies and mothers swore by for silky soft, and pillowy skin. Founder Caroline Owusu-Ansah pays homage to Africa’s OG loofah with her collection of luxe LUV SCRUBs that gently buff away dead surface cells for an ultra-smooth skin texture. You’ll notice all your body oils, butters, and moisturizers *literally* glide on and melt into your skin seamlessly, leaving you with a next-level edible-looking glow. They say ‘loofahs and washcloths don’t even come close’ — and they’re absolutely right!
Bestseller: Mesh Body Exfoliator, $18.
SKOON
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Based in: South Africa.
African roots: SKOON (meaning ‘clean’ in Afrikaans) takes inspiration from African ancestral beauty secrets — modernizing and refining them to create a minimalistic range of clean beauty that incorporates some of South Africa’s best skin-renewing botanicals like rooibos, buchu, and baobab, to name a few. 1% of the brand’s sales go towards The Baobab Foundation to support baobab harvesters in South Africa’s Limpopo Province.
Bestseller: Wow-Wow Wonder Hydrating Serum, R550 ($38).
Alaffia
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Based in: The US.
African roots: Alaffia, meaning ‘a state of peace, health, and wellbeing,’ is a trailblazing beauty brand that actively gives back to African communities with every purchase. Their incredible initiatives include their Maternal Health Project to fund pre-and-postnatal care, and their Bicycles for Education and Eyeglasses Projects to aid the elderly and empower Togolese youth. Alaffia’s nourishing hair, body, and skincare items will not only take your Sunday self-care ritual to new heights, but these items also do a whole lot of good for West African communities in return.
Bestseller: Authentic African Black Soap All-in-One Eucalyptus Tea Tree, $15.
Melyon
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Based in: Sweden.
African roots: For founder Roger Dupé, his West African parents were the catalysts behind his love for skincare. In Western Africa, he describes how ‘skincare is a form of self-care,’ and this inspired him to turn to the many generational beauty secrets that he learned in his upbringing to ideate Melyon. Melyon is a POC-focused skincare line that combines nature and science to tackle common dilemmas among melanated skin types while still being accessible and ‘suitable for all.’ Diversity forms a huge part of the brand’s DNA, and you can see this clearly in their visuals — we’re. in. love.
Bestseller: Detox Serum, $84.
Suki Suki Naturals
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Based in: South Africa.
African roots: After battling to find luxury haircare brands that offer rich and natural remedies for Afro-textured hair (with prices that don’t leave a major dent in your pocket), founder Linda Gieskes-Mwamba began to handcraft her own remedies, which then led to the introduction of Suki Suki Naturals. Over the years, the brand has catapulted into a bathroom cabinet staple thanks to their all-natural, glow-boosting, and zen-inducing face, body, and hair concoctions ‘specially developed for those living under the harsh African sun.’
Bestseller: Rosehip Brightening Facial Oil, R445 ($31).
Lulu & Marula
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Based in: South Africa.
African roots: A brand that values nature, simplicity, sustainability, and the ‘simple pleasures’ that come with a sensory beauty regimen. From skin and body care, their line consists of multi-tasking essentials that bring balance back to the skin and streamline lengthy skincare routines. All of their recipes are formulated with plant-derived ingredients, with marula oil as the superfood hero throughout to repair, protect and hydrate your complexion.
Bestseller: Balancing Cleansing Balm, R360 ($25).
Hanahana Beauty
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Based in: The US.
African roots: Founder Abena Boamah-Acheampong brings beauty back to basics with a collection of clean and conscious skin-nurturing blends using generational beauty treasures like African black soap and shea butter as star ingredients at the heart of the brand. Their shea butter is ethically sourced from the Katariga Women’s Shea Cooperative in Ghana (paying twice the fair trade price per kilo) with their initiative The Hanahana Circle of Care, which provides economic support and healthcare to ‘women within the shea trade.’ Their product offerings consist of several gems, from exfoliating cleansers and creamy body bars and butters that’ll leave your skin feeling (and smelling!) like you just stepped out of a boujee spa.
Bestseller: Amber Vanilla Shea Body Butter, $30.
SkinBUTTR
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Based in: The US.
African roots: A range of decadent body care and all-natural skincare items for skin that glows from head to toe. At the core of their best-selling rich body butters is whipped shea for all-round skin-nourishing goodness, mixed up with essential oils and natural fragrances, like yummy ginger lemon and cocoa vanilla, for tropical smelling and glistening skin.
Bestseller: Cocoa Vanilla [Buttr], $15.
Looking to maximize your renewed skin radiance? Check out our guide on how to GloWish this summer.
Disclaimer: Every product we review has been independently selected and tested without bias by our editorial team. We never take payment to review products, although some brands allow affiliate links, so we may earn a commission if you purchase a product by clicking on one of our links.
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