Discover Black Owned Spotlight: Shhy Beauty

By Emily Foley

Photo from Shhy Beauty website

With August being National Black Business Month, it’s important to take the opportunity to further amplify the Discover Black-Owned Beauty section of Cosmoprof North America’s Las Vegas show. Curated by Maria Torres of Beauty Management Group, the section spotlighted black founded and owned brands and served to support retailers committed to ‘the 15% pledge’.

For the 2023 show, the featured businesses included:

Here, we highlight Shylynn Oubre, the founder of Shhy Beauty, a line of hair and skincare products designed to fill a void that Oubre herself found in the market. The brand launched in 2021 when Oubre was just twenty-two years old.

What is your biggest asset when it comes to being a black-owned business?

When I first started my brand, I would have said my amazing product. But now, I would say it’s my passion. Yes, I’m a black business-owner and a female, but it’s my passion for the brand, which shows through the quality and efficacy of my products, that stands out.

Why is it important to recognize Black Owned Business Month?

We need more representation for black business owners, specifically in the beauty space. My goal is to redefine the beauty space, because we’re all so distinctively made with different hair textures and complexions, and the unrealistic standards set by the industry can create deep rooted insecurities in people. It took me years to undo the damage I felt from the beauty industry growing up, so it is really important to me to redefine the space. And of course, we need a bigger platform for minority businesses as a whole!

Talk about the importance of being a woman of color in the beauty space:

I think that women are coming out on top! There are a lot more women-founded businesses now, and I love that for us! Females, minorities, the more we get out there and are put out there, we are creating a new wave of inclusivity and representation and setting our own standards! We shouldn’t have a set standard for people of color. Beauty is a feeling, it’s not a look. It’s something that comes from within.

What is the best way non-black people can support black-owned brands?

I feel like this goes all the way across the board, whether minority business owners or just small business owners: The best way to support is to share! A business is a marathon not a sprint. If you have a product you’ve tried and like, share it! A social media share really has so much power these days—You never know who’s watching.

What was your biggest takeaway from exhibiting at Cosmoprof

We left Cosmoprof feeling amazing! It exceeded our expectations. We made great connections with distributors and buyers, and I got to network with other business owners, which was incredible. It was amazing to share highs and lows and how we’ve navigated through that and just the reassurance that other business owners are experiencing the same things as you and hearing how they pushed through them. We were ready to go to Miami before the Vegas show even ended!

ABOUT EMILY FOLEY

Emily is a freelance journalist with more than a decade of experience covering beauty, fashion, entertainment and lifestyle, and her work appears in magazines such as Allure, Glamour, Marie Claire, and InStyle.com. She’s reported from countless red carpets, fashion shows and makeup trailers and has the sequins and stories to prove it. Emily also shares the latest beauty, fashion, and lifestyle trends on TV shows across the country, and in the midst of all that is a mom of two and wife of one.

Categorized in: Spotlights