Woman-Owned Skincare Brands for Your Self-Care Sunday

Klei began as Founder Valerie Smith’s daily dose of self-care. As a buyer and planner in the fashion industry, she escaped the stress of her fashion career by making beauty concoctions after work and on the weekends. Production eventually moved from Val’s dining room table to a studio space in Gowanus, Brooklyn, where she manufactured products by hand herself, and then to a partner facility in New Jersey.

Powered by nature and rooted in heritage, Palermo Body was named after Founder Jessica Morelli’s Sicilian grandmother’s hometown. “My Nonna believed self-care was an integral part of everyday life,” she writes. “She taught me the importance of quality, natural ingredients, and the act of making self-care a daily practice.”

When Founder Karen Young was, well, young, her mother placed a ban on beauty magazines in the home. As Karen launched OUI, she reflected on her mother’s choice and looked through shaving ads from the ‘50s onward. “It all boiled down to one message,” she writes. “‘You’re not lovable’ if you don’t…” Karen noted the language and prevalence of the words “anti-aging,” “flawless” and “perfect” and decided to do things differently.