Better Together: Fives Years of Oribe & Black Beauty Roster

COMMUNITY

Better Together: Five Years of Oribe & Black Beauty Roster

This year, Oribe celebrates five years of partnership with Black Beauty Roster, marking the milestone most recently during BBR’s first Beauty Show in New York City.

As a founding partner, our work together has always been rooted in our shared commitment to building a more inclusive industry and creating meaningful opportunities for Black beauty professionals. Keep reading for a closer look at our story.

Our Meet Cute

Founded in 2021 by Maude Okrah Hunter, Black Beauty Roster connects the beauty, fashion, television, and film industries with Black beauty professionals for on—and off—set opportunities and education. Our partnership first began when longtime Oribe collaborator and casting director Gilleon Smith recognized the likeness and natural alignment between both organizations. From our first conversation with Maude, it was clear that our partnership would create lasting change within the industry. By championing education, advocacy, and access within the creative industries, we’ve been working toward a workforce where every artist feels confident working across every hair type and texture.

Better Together

Over the past five years, we’ve collaborated on summits, masterclasses, panel discussions, and industry events with Black Beauty Roster.

"Five years is incredibly special because Oribe was one of the brands that believed in BBR and our mission early on. They were the first brand to say yes to sponsoring our virtual summit in 2021. What has made the partnership meaningful is that it has never just been about putting a logo on something. There has also been a willingness to listen, learn, and evolve alongside us. That’s important because meaningful inclusion isn’t a campaign or a one-time initiative. It requires consistency. When a brand continues to show up year after year, that sends a powerful message to our community.” - Maude Okrah Hunter

BBR has helped Oribe expand our creative community and discover exceptional artists for campaigns, photo shoots, and NYFW. For the relaunch of the Eternal Curls Collection, BBR partnered with the Oribe team to ensure our education, representation, and storytelling authentically spoke to consumers with wavy, curly, and coily hair. At Oribe, that commitment extends to product testing on Type 3 and 4 hair, inclusive campaign casting, and texture-specific training for every Oribe educator.

“One of my favorite moments actually happened behind the scenes when we were able to consult on the Eternal Curls product launch and provide insight and context that we saw implemented into the launch. I would also say one of the moments that brings a smile to my face is creating more access to outstanding beauty professionals. We were able to get some artists their first NYFW opportunity and 3 years later they have continued to work with Oribe and be on their call sheet for NYFW.”

Breaking Boundaries

Oribe team member Ke’ala Kamalu, alongside Brand Ambassadors Stacey Ciceron, and Miles Jeffries have joined Black Beauty Roster on stage to teach, moderate conversations, and share their personal experiences with the wider beauty community. Ke’ala Kamalu, Oribe Global Education Director, has been recognized as a BBR100 Executive as part of the first BBR100 class.

“Pushing the beauty industry to become a more diverse and equitable space is one of our top priorities as a brand,” shares Ke’ala. “Our partnership with Black Beauty Roster is an excellent example of how we are starting to move the needle toward meaningful, sustainable diversity in beauty.”

Five years in and what we still love most about our partnership with Black Beauty Roster is how our teams come together to support artists with the education and access they need to thrive. We couldn’t be more proud to celebrate five years of work with BBR and look forward to all we will make possible together in the years ahead.