Women’s History Month in the Beauty Space
Women’s History Month started today (March 1st), and it’s a great time to reflect on what women mean to this business and this industry. We’ve had the greatest pleasure here at Skincare Anarchy, to not only employ amazing female employees, but highlight female owned and female run brands. Some of the women owned businesses that we’ve had on the show have made an impact on us and on our listeners so, let’s highlight a few of them once again.
LULAAV is a skincare brand that was born out of CEO Shira Tabib’s love for the organics and botanicals that grew in her ancestor’s gardens. “LULAAV was born in the valleys of the Fertile Crescent, a region known for its mineral-rich soil, abundant harvests, and penetrating, nutrient-dense botanics. And its women, born from this land, luminous skin, legendary for their strength and beauty. Here, women celebrated their heritage, passing on timeless beauty secrets to their daughters. Skin care recipes blending the most exquisite and potent botanicals, and time-honored beauty rituals to regenerate and glorify complexions, giving skin its optimal vitality.” (lulaav.com). Tabib has taken these beautifully enriched ingredients and created a brand that will take skincare by storm.
Ornami Skincare was founded by Cosmetic Chemist Yewande Masi. Masi created Ornami because she wanted to design luxurious, toxin-free ingredients that encouraged women to take the time to care for themselves as a daily ritual. “My dad asked me, ‘If I could create a career out of three things I loved, what would those three things be?’ I answered that I loved Science, I loved Beauty Products, and I loved Contemporary Art” (Masi).
She fell in love with organic chemistry back when she was in school and decided to meld her love for chemistry with her love for beauty. She thought to herself, someone has to make these products, which then launched her into her career and current position. “While we may be scientists, we are also creative people. The ability to use science as a background and the knowledge that we have to create a tangible product, not everybody can do that. You have to pat yourself on the back” (Masi).
Another female owned business is AMEŌN, Co-created by Alina Mehrle. She created a skincare brand that has a focus on nourishing damaged skin. Alina is a breast cancer survivor whose skin took some damage due to her chemotherapy sessions (and the air in NYC). “Then, at the age of thirty, a breast cancer diagnosis changed my life. Breast cancer, chemo, a double mastectomy, fear and doubt break you down but they also give you an opportunity to build yourself back up.” (Mehrle). Her bravery shows through her sharing her story and the steps she took to help others with their skin through AMEŌN.
Sally and Michelle, Co-Founders of the brand Womaness, have created a brand for catered to menopausal women. “We believe you deserve modern, innovative products, essential information, and unlimited inspiration that helps take the “pause” out of menopause and spark a radiant, dynamic outlook that embraces who and where you are today, what we call menopositivity. Symptoms like hot flashes, brain fog, fine lines, vaginal dryness, low libido, and bladder leaks should not stop you. We’re here to help you tap into your fierceness, your sexiness, your realness, your agelessness. Women at this stage of life are the coolest, smartest, most interesting women we know. They deserve a place. That place is here.” (Womaness). This brand has created an entirely new ballpark for women in the beauty and health industry, a topic that has been labeled ‘taboo’ in the past and is now at the forefront of women’s health.
Allison McNamara is the founder of MARA Beauty and has taken an algae approach to skincare. Her algae infused skincare has been tested and loved by many for it’s plumping and restorative properties. “‘MARA’ is the last four letters of McNamara’s last name and means “sea” in Gaelic, but the brand name was actually first inspired by the Sea of Marmara in Istanbul, Turkey, where the concept of MARA was born. She spent two years developing the MARA proprietary algae blend, which has been clinically tested to be plump, firm and smooth, and is harvested via wild collecting in France and Ireland. MARA’s first-to-market, award winning formulas have synergistic mixes of algae, transformative actives, superfoods, adaptogens and mega hydrators” (MARA Beauty).
The story of Women’s History Month began on February 28th, 1909, it was only called ‘Women’s History Day’ however until 1978, where it was changed to ‘Women’s History Week’. This change occurred in order to draw attention to the fact that women’s history wasn’t typically taught in the K-12 curriculum. “Women’s organizations, including the National Women’s History Alliance, campaigned yearly to recognize Women’s History Week. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter declared the week of March 8 Women’s History Week across the country. By 1986, 14 states had declared the entire month of March Women’s History Month, according to the Alliance. The following year, in March of 1987, activists were successful: They lobbied Congress to declare March Women’s History Month.” (Yurcaba and Berry).
Throughout our history, many changes have been made in order to further women along in their lives and their interests. From Wisconsin Territory being the first in America to allow women to vote in 1869, to Kamala Harris, being the first woman of color to become Vice President of the United States in 2020.
These changes throughout our history have gotten women a long way, however the work is not done. The social injustices, to the racism that women of color still deal with, to the pay gap that is very much prevalent in our society, our work as women and feminists is far from over. Although, this doesn’t mean that we can’t take a minute to look back on our history and appreciate what all these women before us were able to accomplish. We must continue to be a part of this gender equality change and build a better future for our children.
Here at Skincare Anarchy, we champion women owned and run businesses and love to support and uplift them on our platform. It has been our greatest pleasure to highlight all these wonderful women on our podcast and we can’t wait to keep bringing our audience this amazing content.
Citations
- “Our Story | LULAAV.” lulaav, https://lulaav.com/pages/our-story#our-story. Accessed 1 March 2022.
- “Our story | AMEŌN Skincare.” Ameon Skin, https://ameonskin.com/our-story.html. Accessed 1 March 2022.
- “Our founders — Shop Womaness.” Womaness, https://womaness.com/pages/our-founders. Accessed 1 March 2022.
- “Our Story.” MARA Beauty, https://themarabeauty.com/pages/our-story. Accessed 1 March 2022.
- Yurcaba, Jo, and Elizabeth Berry. “21 Women’s History Month Facts — Facts About Women’s History.” Woman’s Day, 16 February 2022, https://www.womansday.com/life/a34908026/womens-history-month-facts/. Accessed 1 March 2022.
Author: Remy Vidal
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