3 Native American Founders Share Their Best-Kept Beauty Secrets

With the rise of fast-paced platforms like TikTok over the past few years, there's no denying that Western culture has acquired an inherent drive for instant gratification. Viral makeup and skincare moments are gone in a flash, and folks are on to the next. Sometimes, I wonder if this is helping or hurting the conversation surrounding beauty. On one hand, we're seeing wonderful new brands embracing what makes us all unique and offering products to those who haven't previously felt seen, but there are still larger beauty brands out there who solely look to create viral moments without truly doing anything to promote diversity and change. Progress can feel like one step forward and two steps back at times, but I believe that beauty can be healing in this way.

We're finally starting to have conversations about what it means to be Black, Brown, or Indigenous and struggle with unique circumstances and needs, especially when it comes to beauty categories like skincare and makeup. Of course, being a beauty editor, I've never viewed beauty as something trivial. It can fill you with confidence and a sense of pride in who you are if you let it. It's empowered self-expression and can inspire you to create something completely new that speaks to others. That's what I learned from three Native American beauty founders. I was fortunate enough to get to speak to them about the beauty hacks they've taken from their cultures and how it inspired their brands. Keep reading and find out all their best-kept skincare, haircare, and makeup secrets.

Her beauty secret: A potent acne- and inflammation-fighting salve made of nopal, aloe vera, jojoba, and oranges.

Using plants as medicine is nothing new. Many cultures all over the globe have used them for centuries in healing work, but according to Prados Beauty founder Cece Meadows, they can also act as powerful soothing agents for the skin.

"As a young girl visiting my grandparents in our colonia in Sonora, Mexico, there were a lot of plants that were used as medicine and skincare," she shares. She even touts one universally loved skincare ingredient as helping to heal her skin inflammation and breakouts. "I had a bit of acne one summer, so my grandmother would take nopal and aloe vera plants that grew on our land to make a skincare salve for me. The salve contained raw nopal and aloe salve with a mixture of jojoba and oranges. The aloe and nopal salve that the plant naturally excretes was for the acne but also to heal the skin that I had been picking at that summer. The jojoba was for the inflammation that I was experiencing, as it is a natural vitamin E and B complex to heal skin. The oranges were for vitamin C to keep my skin looking healthy by brightening it, helping to heal scars, and reducing dark spots from picking at my acne."

Using her environment as her healer inspired Meadows in many ways, but especially when it came to creating her makeup brand, Prados Beauty. Jojoba is a shrub that grows in dry regions like Mexico and offers so many healing benefits. Many already use it as a skincare oil, but Meadows had another use for it in mind. "I have a makeup remover currently that contains jojoba oil. When removing makeup, you want to nourish the skin as you wipe away gunk and cosmetics off your face. I believe if you can use it during and after the makeup-removing process, the skin will become nourished, making it easier to bounce back from a long day of wearing makeup," she says.

Her culture inspires every aspect of her brand, from ethics, sustainability, and formulations to storytelling, affordability, accessibility, and philanthropy. "I always want to be a representative of my people and where I come from, so creating a brand that pays homage to that requires a lot of respect and care. It starts from who I work with on designing packaging, sourcing high-quality ingredients that are safe and aren't putting lives at risk to acquire them, [and] making them affordable and accessible. Then taking the money that I make from selling my products and sowing it back into my people and our communities. I often tell people that this is more than just a beauty brand; it's a brand for all people who wish to buy beautiful high-quality products and do more with their money by helping me give it back to those who are in need," Meadows says.

Her beauty secrets: A locally cultivated plant called piñon extract, which treats a variety of conditions, and using yucca root in shampoo. 

Blended Girl Cosmetics founder Shí-Fawn Chee shares a few star ingredients from her culture. "In Diné culture, a lot of our beauty secrets and ingredients you can cultivate locally from the land of Diné Bikéyah," she explains. "We have piñon extract that is used to treat a variety of conditions. Once made into a salve, it's good for cuts, burns, chapped lips, arthritis, etc. We also make shampoo using yucca root, and it's proven to promote healthy, long, beautiful, and shiny hair. You dig up the yucca root, slowly rip or crush it, add it to water until you get a nice soapy consistency, and wash/rinse your hair like you would with regular shampoo."

Although Blended Girl doesn't use these natural ingredients at the moment, she'd love to change that in the future. "[I] would love to collaborate with fellow Indigenous beauty brands and apothecaries that do. I am, however, very inspired by the natural beauty of our people and [am working on] curating a line to celebrate that."

Diné culture continues to be an inspiration in her life, and when it comes to her brand. "With most of my products, the names and artwork are all taken from my lived experiences growing up on the Rez. The beauty, humor (inside jokes), and scenery back home."

Her beauty secret: Storytelling and her beliefs aid in the healing process.

As a Reiki healer myself, I relate to Sequoia Soaps founder Michaelee Lazore's approach to beauty and wellness. Your belief system can definitely influence your results. "Our traditions often include storytelling, belief, and confidence, especially when it comes to healing," Lazore says. "For example, an elder may tell you a story instead of tell you what to do. Often, our beliefs and confidence aid in our healing. The storytelling has definitely inspired my brand, as I like to tell a story through the products. This not only allows me to share snippets of my culture with others, but I believe it can instill pride and a connection for our customers."

She brings this aspect of her upbringing into every Sequoia product. "We've brought some of our cultural/Indigenous stories alive through our products. This is how I founded Sequoia. I was looking for Indigenous products for my skin, and there were none. This prompted me to want to make products like [our] Sweetgrass Soap. What I want others to feel when using our products is a connection to Indigenous culture, pride, and confidence in using it. Skincare and other healing often begins with self-confidence."