Dark Beauty Woman
While Black History Month is coming to a close in the U.S., the celebration of Black power, influence, and beauty around the globe is indefinite.
Blackness isn’t a monolith—it connects countless skin tones, hair textures, facial features, and beauty rituals. While the beauty industry in particular has made great strides in addressing the lack of inclusion that has historically held it back, from addressing racial bias in retail to doubling the number of Black-owned brands on shelves for everyone to experience, there is still a lot of work to be done.
As beauty brands, retail spaces, and the media continue to build on missions centering around diversity and inclusion, not just through product offerings but through compensation and by providing access platforms where Black women are seen and heard, we wanted to share how Black women from around the world define their beauty, in their own words. Because no one knows us better than ourselves.
What Black beauty means to her:
It means strength—it’s an affirmation of who you are and a flight from standards. For years, fair skin and straight hair settled in our society as the beauty standard, mainly because this was the image linked to most products sold globally—and this image was not only reproduced on TV, but shown in campaigns and anywhere where the idea was to convey “beauty.” Meanwhile, having Black features like full lips, curly hair, and a broad nose was considered ugly.
How it’s viewed in her country:
We grew up being fed insecurities about our bodies, our hair, our beauty, and our people. It was years of hiding or trying to fit into old patterns, seeking perfection, when you don’t have a formula for it. As a model, I think back on how difficult it was to be present in some spaces. And how difficult it was to be able to participate in a parade, a campaign, or even a simple casting.
