In the beauty and haircare space, professionals have a multitude of booking sites to choose from. From StyleSeat to Booksy, to Square, beauty professionals have no shortage of where and how to advertise their services. However, there has never been anything specifically created for Black beauty and haircare. That is, until now.
In March of this year, Ruth Kusi Asare launched the revolutionary, Beauty N Brushes (BNB). A booking site designed for Black beauty, haircare, and everything in between. Currently, in 20 cities across the U.S. and Canada, Beauty N Brushes provides a comprehensive listing of 2,000 professionals, giving people of color access to services that are specific to their needs.
Ruth’s inspiration for launching Beauty N Brushes began shortly after graduating from undergrad. While taking time off to embark on a modeling career, she noticed that there weren’t many Black beauty professionals. Resulting in her having to do her hair and makeup before going on set.
She said, “I had days where the makeup artist didn’t have my shade or the makeup didn’t turn out that well. Because they didn’t know how to work with my skin tone. Or finding someone to do my hair was difficult because many were not familiar with my hair texture.” Adding, “It was those experiences that made me think how much better it would be if there were a platform for people of color. One that would make finding Black professionals easier.”
From there, Ruth began creating an online presence through Instagram. “For two years, we showcased beauty professionals, helping to connect them with clients. And grew a following from there”, she says. Through the success of their Instagram account, which is over 167,000 followers, Ruth began looking into how to create Beauty N Brushes.
Since launching, Ruth has already seen great success in Beauty N Brushes. Saying, “We get a lot of messages from people telling us that they’ve been able to find someone in their city. We also see it in our stats. On the back end of the platform, we’re able to see how many people are using the platform.”
Aside from being for people of color, what makes Beauty N Brushes unique is the variety of categories. Allowing users to filter out exactly what they want from metro area to specific service. It was a feature that Ruth said was important in building out the site.
“The focus is the clients. And clients like us, don’t feel like we’re catered to. So I wanted to make sure that it’s communicated effectively. That’s why we have hundreds of categories for the different types of services that we offer. As women of color, we’re often changing our hair and getting our makeup done. So we wanted to make sure that the services that we tend to do are being catered to. With Beauty N Brushes, you’re able to find a beauty professional within your city who’s able to do that look. And you can easily see their work more efficiently.”
While Beauty N Brushes is still in its beta phase, Ruth has big plans for the future of the site. She and her team are currently looking into simplifying booking and accepting payments. They also have plans to release an app and expand to more locations around the world. Ruth said, “We want to be a one-stop place for Black women to find the beauty inspirations specifically for them. Black women are oftentimes considered an afterthought. So we intend to prioritize Black women and their beauty needs.”
For more information on Beauty N Brushes, visit https://beautynbrushes.com/.
Contributing Writer Racquel Coral is a national lifestyle writer and journalist based in Chicago, Illinois. Find her on social media @withloveracquel.
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