You asked who really owns these brands, so we pulled the records on all seven. Who owns each one today, what it costs per ounce, and whether to buy it, wait on it, or just know the truth.

This is a buying guide, not a lecture. You named the brands; we checked the cap table on every one. Five are still genuinely, independently Black-owned. One is still founder-led but you mostly can’t buy it right now. And one has quietly changed hands twice while the founder’s face stayed on the jar.

Still yours (buy with confidence): • Donna’s Recipe — Tabitha Brown + Gina Woods, one hundred percent founder-owned (the “Revlon owns it” rumor is false — that’s Creme of Nature you’re thinking of) • Rucker Roots — the Rucker sisters, family-owned and self-funded into hundreds of Walmart stores • Karen’s Body Beautiful — Karen Tappin, founder-owned twenty-plus years, now direct from her own site • Ecoslay — Adria Marshall, bootstrapped from three hundred dollars, no outside investors • BGLH Marketplace — Leila Noelliste, handmade in her own Brooklyn storefront Still theirs, but on hold: • Melanin Haircare — still founder-led (Whitney White and her sister), nobody bought it — but most of it is sold out while they restock Changed hands (know before you buy): • Briogeo — founded by Nancy Twine, sold to the Wella Company in 2022, and now owned entirely by the private-equity firm KKR after Coty’s exit in 2025

Start here — These 6 ‘Black-Owned’ Beauty Brands Aren’t Black-Owned Anymore: https://youtu.be/iayN_3CZmvk The sequel — 6 More ‘Black-Owned’ Beauty Brands (owned by names you can’t picture): https://youtu.be/kK9dyn0RbW8

The 10-second shelf check, so you never have to wait on a video again: search the brand name plus the word “acquired,” open the brand’s own About page and see whose name is on it, then check who the CEO is today. If the founder is on the front of the box but stepped away years ago, you get to decide if that is still the dollar you meant to spend. This is a buying guide about ownership and price — public records and the companies’ own announcements. Nothing here is a claim about whether any product is safe, “toxic,” or works. It is about who cashes the check.

Affiliate disclosure: Some links below may be affiliate links. I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes which brands make this list.

Sources (ownership facts): Wella acquires Briogeo (Apr 2022): https://www.wellacompany.com/news Coty sells remaining Wella stake to KKR (Dec 2025): https://www.coty.com/news Tabitha Brown on owning Donna’s Recipe 100%: https://afrotech.com Rucker Roots, family-owned into Walmart (Essence): https://www.essence.com Ecoslay bootstrapped, no investors (Forbes): https://www.forbes.com The Doux takes minority investment (Black Enterprise): https://www.blackenterprise.com

Black History Declassified — Know who you’re really buying from. #BlackOwned #BlackOwnedBeauty #BuyingGuide

Chapters

• 0:00 The Receipts Before You Spend Another Dollar
• 0:55 Why “Still Black-Owned” Costs You Trust
• 2:37 The Cap Table Is the One Thing the Box Hides
• 4:17 Donna’s Recipe: The Revlon Rumor, Checked
• 6:22 Rucker Roots: Family-Owned Into 785 Walmarts
• 7:48 Briogeo: Sold Twice, Now Private Equity
• 10:30 Karen’s Body Beautiful: Twenty Years, One Owner
• 11:58 Ecoslay: The Kitchen Brand That Kept Every Share
• 13:37 BGLH Marketplace: Handmade in Brooklyn
• 14:58 Melanin Haircare: Still Theirs, But Sold Out
• 17:12 Lightning Round + The Ten-Second Check

Watch the full documentary on YouTube