A-Beauty is having a moment, here are the brands you need to know

When founder Ozohu Adoh, struggled to find truly inclusive skincare that catered to the unique needs of Black and brown complexions, and that could effectively treat her dry, and pigmented skin, Epara was born. Hitting shelves in 2017, Epara is a line of high quality, scientifically proven skincare derived from the rich soils of Africa - with more than 80 per cent of all formulations being made up of ingredients sourced from the continent.

One of the brands most popular products, that’s perfect for any skin tone dealing with hyperpigmentation is the Brightening Night Balm, from £35. Packed with nourishing marula from southern Africa, moringa from Kenya and pigment busting plankton – supple skin and a more even tone are pretty much guaranteed.

“I wanted to create a clean, modern, gender-neutral beauty brand that catered to all people with textured (kinky, coily, curly and wavy) hair,” says Julian Addo, the Liberian-Ghanaian American founder of Adwoa Beauty. And she wanted to highlight and champion African actives, which is why all of the brands hero ingredients are sourced from Africa and come from local farmers. The Baomint collection focuses on scalp health to enhance growth and contains vitamin and omega rich baobab oil from Madagascar.

The Blue Tansy collection is packed with blue tansy flower oil and rhassoul clay from Morocco, that work to aid in detangling, improving curl definition, reducing frizz and enhancing shine. While the Melonberry collection contains sustainably harvested kalahari melon seed oil sourced from South Africa. An ingredient that according to Addo, has never been used before in textured hair products despite it being made up of moisturising and rejuvenating essential fatty acids, vitamin e, and powerful plant derived antioxidants.

If you’ve got fine tresses the Hair Milk Leave-in Conditioner, £20, is a must try, as it moisturises, detangles, and softens without weighing down your hair.

Hyperpigmentation is the top concern for those with Black and brown skin, and with inflammation rather than sun damage being the key driver of an uneven skin tone for this demographic, it only makes sense to create products that quell inflammation whilst supporting skin health.

“The industry’s leading labs and manufacturers follow a traditional research and development process, which tests only on medium to very fair skin tones, while our formulations are developed to fit the needs of darker skin tones and are tested on them too, to ensure their efficacy,” share the founders of 4.5.6 Skin. With two out of the three hailing from Africa, this brand proudly fuses ethnobotany - the study of traditional knowledge and customary use of plants - with modern eco-friendly skincare science. The list of A-beauty ingredients is endless – think coconut oil, barbary fig flower extract, spirulina, calendula oil and nigella oil. This latter is featured in the brightening, and smoothing, Max Glow-Getter Firming Radiance Serum, £55, and is widely revered for its anti-inflammatory healing benefits in North Africa.

With a lack of premium hair products for textured hair in luxury department stores, West-African Brit, Judy Koloko, set about changing the status quo. Cue The Steam Bar, a range of scalp-friendly haircare comprising of a shampoo, conditioner, serum and mask. “We worked with an amazing formulator and a renowned cosmetic scientist who understands the needs of the scalp microbiome, and how to keep the scalps pH balanced to support healthy hair growth,” shares Koloko.

So, what makes The Steam Bar a part of the A-beauty category? “We use ethically sourced West African shea butter and baobab oil, and our cleanse, hydrate, moisturise philosophy steams from the cultural influences I grew up with,” adds Koloko. The Scalp Saviour Mask, £40, is a must-try, it’s suitable for all hair textures and if you add a steam session at home or at their Selfridges pop-up you can expect to rock a well looked after scalp and nourished tresses.

With a Kenyan coffee farmer for a grandmother, Relevant founder Nyakio Grieco grew up using Kenyan coffee and sugarcane to exfoliate her face and body. While her grandfather was a medicine man who taught her how to use oils to care for her skin. Feeling as though the continent of Africa was underrepresented in beauty, Grieco set out to share these timeless rituals with the world.

Relevant does just that. “We showcase African ingredients like antioxidant rich, youth-boosting, green coffee seed oil which is found in our Complete Cleansing serum, £28. As well as buriti, baobab and jojoba oil which are all key players in our Sunburst C+ Superfruit Serum, £74," Grieco says. Together they work to prevent sun damage, reduce irritation and redness, as well as visibly brighten and smooth the skin.

Inspired by her transition to a plant-based diet, founder Roshanne Dorsett noticed how eating whole foods quickly improved her complexion and overall health. As a qualified natural skincare formulator, this massive change in her skin emboldened her to start The Glowcery in 2022 - a skincare brand with ingredients as nourishing for the outside as they are for the inside. Formulated for all skin types, and tones, you’ll find plenty of African actives are used to revitalise complexions.

“The Tomato Tonic Fragrance Free Serum, £33, is one of our best sellers. It’s rich in Madagascan tamanu oil, known for its potent anti-inflammatory properties, making the oil great for calming dry skin issues such as rosacea, eczema and psoriasis. It’s also widely used for its wound healing abilities and can also help minimise the appearance of acne scars, reduce breakouts, and promote a healthy, even skin tone,” shares Dorsett.

With jaw dropping before and afters, Ava Estell went viral fast! Founded by Yaw Okyere, a British Ghanian chemical engineer and formulator, who initially developed the all-natural products to help his wife whose post acne scarring, and hyperpigmentation had started to impact her self-confidence. Now if that’s not husband of the year material we don’t know what is. After deciding to share his formulations with the world, Yaw reached out to the Black community to further understand what they needed and wanted from their skincare.

“I noticed there was some distrust around ingredient formulations and the potential long-term health implications that could be experienced. People wanted natural solutions with ingredients such as shea butter, coconut, and aloe vera that could address their skincare concerns,” shares Okyere. That’s where his centuries-old African wisdom around natural ingredients, tailored to the specific needs of melanin-rich skin was invaluable to the reformulation of the original products.

Alongside being 100 per cent natural, sustainability and social impact are also core commitments, so you’ll find pigmentation busting Magix Cream, £29.99, is housed in an eco-friendly aluminium tin and contains ingredients sourced from rural growers in West Africa, who are paid according to fair trade principles.