Parents of melanated babies will have another option when it comes to skincare treatment for their little ones. Power couple Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade recently announced the launch of their skincare brand “Proudly.”
According to Essence, the brand is set to be the first-of-its-kind sustainable baby care brand targeting Black and brown children. In a joint statement, the pair expressed excitement over their new venture. “As we continue to work on new endeavors together, our goal is to always center our work around being the change we want to see while championing diversity, equity, and inclusion,” the couple expressed in the statement. “With Proudly, we’re proud to have a range of products that caters to the unique skincare needs of children of color that are so often overlooked in the mass market.”
The couple is looking to cater to the Black community not only through their products but with who they work with as well. Proudly will reportedly only partner with businesses that display the same goal for diversity in their company and staff.
In an interview with Glamour last year, Union spoke about the issues surrounding products that are only “Black-fronted” in regards to her own haircare line, “Flawless,” which had initially launched in 2017. “It was not a Black-owned company,” the actress said at the time. “The problem with only being a Black-fronted company is that the voices and the needs of Black women are not always centered.” The company later rebranded and was re-released in October 2020. “We wanted to make our products available to everyone through our partnership with Amazon and when we get into stores in October with Sally Beauty,” Union said at the time. “We chose Sally because they are in Black and brown communities, and we wanted to make sure our products were accessible to feel and see in brick-and-mortar.”
Proudly plans to avoid those obstacles with the hiring of Pamela Cholankeril, a former employee of Estée Lauder Companies Inc., who will serve as the brand’s president, and dermatologist Naana Boakye, M.D., who helped create Proudly’s formula.
According to Cholankeril, “Effectively, 50.2 percent of kids born after 2013 have one non-white parent. There are so many people in this category of children that have melanated skin with unique properties. It’s interesting we call it a white space when it’s in support of such a big population.” “It is imperative that skincare brands take into account the structural and functional differences in melanated skin prior to formulating skincare products,” Boakye added.
This skincare brand adds to the growing list of businesses Union and Wade are tapping into, including children’s books and clothing, both inspired by her daughter, Kaavia James, aka “Shady Baby.” Proudly is set to be released at the tail end of 2021 through the brand’s website, proudlycompany.com, where you can also sign up to get more information regarding specific launch time, products and more.
