Celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community is always a good idea, but especially during Pride Month. While you might be tempted to shop all of those limited-edition rainbow-themed collections that seem to pop up every year around this time, why not take your support for queer folx a step further and shop directly from a few queer-owned hair and grooming brands?
Buying from queer hair and grooming brands that are actually run by queer folx ensures that your hard-earned money is being invested directly back into the LGBTQIA+ community. To help you show your love for queer community this Pride, we’ve rounded up a handful of queer-founded hair brands to support now and always.
Alder New York
Founded by longtime besties, David J. Krause and Nina Zilka, Alder New York is a queer- and woman-owned skincare and haircare designed to work for all skin types, age groups, and gender identities. Their high performing range of vegan products are formulated with the best plant-powered extracts and clean, dermatologist-approved ingredients. For the month of June, 10 percent of all of their Pride Limited Edition Cooling Mineral Hydro Mist sales will be donated to the Ali Forney Center, whose mission is to protect LGBTQ youths from the harms of homelessness and empower them with the tools needed to live independently.
Recommended product: Alder New York Texture Powder, $27.00
Vernon Francois Haircare
After building a successful career helping A-list stars like Lupita Nyong’o, Serena Williams, and Kerry Washington care for their curls and coils, celebrity hairstylist Vernon Francois is now helping others do the same with his namesake haircare line. With a mission to celebrate and champion textured hair in all its glory, Vernon Francois Haircare delivers premium natural hair products that are made of the highest quality natural oils, plant extracts and botanicals.
Recommended product: Vernon Francois Mist Nourishing Water, $16.00
Malin + Goetz
Founded by couple Andrew Goetz and Matthew Malin, Malin + Goetz first began as a flagship apothecary shop in 2004 and has since blossomed into a global brand known for its uncomplicated approach to luxury hair, skin, and body products. Made with natural yet effective ingredients, all of their products are made locally in New York to limit their carbon footprint.
Recommended product: Malin + Goetz Sage Styling Cream, $8.00
Kiss My Face
Ever since couple Bob MacLeod and Steve Byckiewicz first founded Kiss My Face in the 1980s, they have made it their mission to find and combine the best ingredients to create effective and consistently better body and grooming products in a healthy and sustainable way. Their mostly vegan products are never tested on animals and are formulated with natural and organic botanicals along with vitamins and essential oils.
Recommended product: Kiss My Face Fragrance Free Moisture Shave, $7.95
Mantl
Co-founded by Queer Eye’s resident “culture expert”, Karamo Brown, Mantl is a skincare and grooming brand that was was inspired by bald folks but works for everyone. Made of naturally-derived ingredients like aloe, willow herb, and ginger root, their range of face and scalp products provide men in all stages of balding with a more nourished and healthier face and scalp.
Recommended product: Mantl Face + Scalp Cleanser, $17.00
Which queer-owned hair and grooming brands do you love? Share with us below!
