Black hair care companies have played a vital role in the culture's trajectory. Among them, there have been cult standouts that reflect the shifts in beauty standards. They have been a staple on our kitchen stoves and bathroom counters for generations. Without them, our curls would slump, our ends would singe, and our lives would dim.

What makes a cult Black hair care brand? It’s undeniable and unique. Nothing can replicate that Black gel, pink lotion, or off-white cream you manipulate your tresses with. Each time it graces your scalp or strands, it helps you transform into the version of yourself you want to present to the world.

"There are certain things that I think will always be iconic because of the nostalgia and the connection to people's memories and our cultural experience," says Maya Smith, hairstylist and founder of The Doux. "That's really what defines what I call a 'blueprint brand' versus a 'me too.'"

You'd discover these brands through "Your aunties, or your sisters, or your friends, people you met at church in those community spaces," she says. "The word of mouth really traveled." Even shopping for these products became a shared experience: "If I went into any beauty supply store and didn't see that pink lotion, I didn't see specific oils, I didn't see Motions, I felt like 'Oh, this is not a place that I'm welcome to shop,'" says celebrity stylist and beauty educator Monaé Everett. "'They don't want people with my type of hair.'"

Cornell McBride Jr., CEO of Design Essentials (founded by his father 35 years ago), co-signs that connection to the community. "If it's not sustainable, if it's just kind of started on a fad and it's not foundational, it's not going to last," he says. "It's going to go up like a rocket ship. It's going to come down like a rocket ship."

Cult Black hair care brands create powerful imagery. They spark memories. Every Black girl remembers bright globs of grease and combs submerged in flames that marked a special occasion, the butterfly clips that marked picture day, and the scent of spritz-covered curls accompanying them to skating rinks and school dances.

They comfort and reassure. They serve individuals looking to protect, express, and understand themselves through personal appearance. They have served as shields from society's evils, platforms for identity, and springboards for achieving financial security.

Design Essentials became one of the biggest Black-owned cult beauty brands through black hair salons. "We [can] touch so many people daily through the stylists," McBride says. "The stylists embrace the product." Salon environments allowed stylists to educate consumers on what would one day become the staples in their hair care routines.

These products were about self-care, not conformity or the respectability politics of the past. They pampered and uplifted Black women in a sacred space. If you saw Design Essentials products on the salon shelf, you knew your stylist was about to kill your French roll, much like how you knew your Easter hairstyle was about to come to fruition when you saw Blue Magic or Murray's on the stove.

Miss Jessie's, a brand that helped usher in the natural hair movement, also took flight in a salon environment before taking a more DIY-friendly, retail-focused approach. Alongside Shea Moisture, Carol's Daughter, and Eden Bodyworks, it aimed to educate consumers about their curls and empower them to style them.

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The rise of social media had a profound impact on Black hair brands. "Legacy brands were no longer able to be just the go-to," says Everett. "They had a lot more competition."

The emergence of platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok gave consumers a voice and inspired dialogues. While some pitted professionals against the growing DIY movement, there was still a reverence for the stylists using products from brands like Design Essentials and Motions. It just looked different. "You get what you call these industry shifts,” said McBride.

While McBride and his team didn't pick up on these industry shifts immediately ("We ignored it. We didn't think it had anything to do with salons," he shares), the company has since embraced the changes. Design Essentials has a robust presence on TikTok, sharing its processes and highlighting team members like the chemists behind the formulas. "We continue to evolve," McBride shares. "You have to stay current with the times."

McBride may not have predicted the direction the industry would move in, but he understands it. "You probably had a natural curiosity about [what goes on] behind the brand," he says. "Twenty, 30 years ago, it wasn't as easy as it is today, right?" Social media, he says, brings "your consumer closer to you."

While the fickle nature of social media means you don't always know what will resonate with users or "when it's going to bubble up," as McBride says, consumers are consistently returning to the OG brands their mothers and aunts loved and embracing new ones, proving cult favorites still have staying power. As Everett says, "Those legacy brands, I don't think they're going anywhere.”