Finally, beauty aisles everywhere are getting a much-needed makeover. Inclusivity is no longer just a feel-good buzzword in this space, but a reality. That’s all thanks to an emerging guard of women founders who are filling in the gaps and ensuring that everyone feels a sense of belonging in our world today. Their hair, makeup, and skincare lines are redefining the once singular standard of beauty, and we’ve got three words: Yes. To. This. 

When Maya Smith—a hairstylist with a love for hip hop—opened up her first natural hair salon while living in Germany over 10 years ago, she didn’t realize her venture was not the norm. Smith’s salon was one of just a handful in Europe catering to the needs of women with textured hair, and from there the hairstylist gained quite a cult following. 

Her current salon in Macon, GA, called The Doux, is one of the only salons worldwide to provide skilled services to anyone who walks through the doors—no matter what your hair texture. Outside her salon, though, Smith still sensed that a good majority of the haircare products "for curly or natural hair" on the shelves weren’t truly delivering on the real needs. Many were even obsolete.

Melissa Butler will tell you that she had no idea what she was doing when she left her Wall Street job to launch her own lipstick company. One thing she was certain of: If the mass beauty industry wasn’t going to offer the colors she wanted for self-expression, she would do it herself.

It’s been a long road of mixing lipsticks in her own kitchen while working her day job, compiling a solid “no list” of chemical-laded ingredients, and defying hard rejections from investors (with the videos to prove it). But The Lip Bar—a line of amplifying, super-pigmented lipsticks and lip glosses made with cleaner formulas—finally became a reality.

After a chemically relaxed hairstyle left Nickie Nougaisse with damaged hair and burns on her scalp, she made the choice to transition to natural hair. But the transition, which involves managing two different hair textures, wasn’t as easy as she expected: Her relaxed ends felt limp and lifeless, while her new hair growth could barely stay hydrated. Finding hairstyles that worked for her during this stage was hard enough, but her real struggle was the lack of products available to help nourish her hair, keep in moisture, and promote faster growth—without any harsh or harmful ingredients.

So for two years as she transitioned, Nougaisse created her own oil blends and products for much-needed hair TLC—and shared them with her friends and other women in her social circles who were seeking similar hair-reviving solutions for themselves. Soon enough, they were asking for more, and they were willing to pay for Nougaisse’s creations.