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Marcia Edwards founded her skin-care brand, Oil of Nature, after her twin daughters suffered with dermatitis and eczema. Unhappy with the side effects of the conventional medication they were prescribed, Edwards began researching unrefined Ghanaian shea butter. She noticed that the ingredient had several qualities that could not only help her daughters but also others […]

MDM FLOW creator Florence Adepoju trained as a cosmetic scientist and, at the age of 22, launched a line of handmade, highly pigmented lipsticks: all made in her at-home Essex lab and all cruelty-free. The MDM FLOW range is stocked at Topshop, Harvey Nichols, and more — and they’ve recently released a mascara. A.M.

Swedish-born, London-based photographer Maya Njie began working with scents at university as a way to add to her photography art practise. In 2016, she launched a line of small-batch, hand-bottled perfumes made from high-quality essential oils, compounds, and resins. They’re now stocked internationally, from Australia to Japan to the Conran Shop in London. Njie offers

Manicure You was created when founder Nicola started to notice the effects that acrylic and shellac treatments were having on her nails. Determined to look after her nails naturally, she launched this range of polishes, which come in shades such as Berry, Mint, and Boy Blue. Manicure You products are free from the seven major

Founder and CEO Djimbi Djevdet focused on makeup as a way of coping with chronic pain. After being diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 2012, she turned to beauty videos on YouTube to take her mind off things, and went on to launch Make-Up Addiction, which makes and sells everything from eyeshadow palettes to eye glitters. The

The Essex-based company makes hair and body oils, shampoos, and beard oils as well as a range of shaving bars made from products such as shea butter and kaolin clay. Luxemore is also partnered with the Distant Relatives Project, a nonprofit that supports communities in countries including Nigeria, Jamaica, and Ghana. C.M.

Founded by two friends (Abi Oyepitan, a former Olympic athlete, and Liha Okunniwa, an art book publisher), and based between Cheltenham and Hackney, Liha is a luxurious, all-natural skin-care brand. Liha’s products blend English folk remedies with West African ingredients, like Nigerian shea butter — and are all 100 percent vegan, cruelty-free, and free from parabens, sodium

Sharron Jenkins says her Bedfordshire-based (and award-winning) business Kalabash Bodycare, which specialises in Caribbean-inspired artisan soaps, bath and body care, is a way to pay homage to her heritage. The soaps are made with a blend of olive, coconut, and castor oils, and come in enticing scents such as charcoal and lemon and ginger, orange,

Goodman Factory promotes healthy beard care. Their key product is their beard oil, made with grape-seed, jojoba, and mixed essential oils, but they also sell beard-care products, including a handcrafted walnut wood beard comb and a beard brush to maintain hair follicles. The founders also run stories tackling common misconceptions about beards and have a

Equi founder Ekwy Chukwuji-Nnene’s vegan, natural hair-care line focuses on three goals: growth, thickness and retention. Equi believes that technique is just as important to hair health as the products, so it hosts weekly Q&A Instagram lives, covering product use, building a hair-care regimen, understanding and correcting porosity, and more. A.M.