This week, Barbara Jacques—Founder and CEO of JACQ’S, a vegan and sustainable skincare line created for women of color by women of color—celebrates her recent success of winning one of Pharrell William’s Black Ambition Prizes, her first time participating in an accelerator program, and the impact of mentorship and coaching to help evolve the brand and its expansion into retail. Barbara talks about the importance of laughter and finding joyful moments in everything she does. She recounts the learnings from her mother saying “She allowed me to find myself in beauty and have fun with it.” Barbara is an advocate for education and encourages founders to read and do their own research. She talks openly about going from an “at home alchemist” to working with a formulator and understanding the importance of science in the end results and delivering efficacy products.
Bio: Barbara created JACQ’S after a health scare during her pregnancy. As a way to cope with her illness, she began studying green medicine, and holistic plant botany. The more research she did, the more concerns she had about the effects of ingredients on our overall health.
After recovering from her illness and delivering her daughter, Barbara created JACQ’S with a mission to change the way the beauty industry sees skincare and women of color. Black women, Brown women, Latin women, Asian women, and everyone in between should be seen and to be seen as much more than props and profit margins.
Products sold and marketed to Black women contain some of the most toxic chemicals used in the cosmetics industry. JACQ’S product collection is inspired by Barbara’s Caribbean background using exotic ingredients, cruelty-free products, and sustainable packaging.
The company is a Green America-certified business that’s Peta approved and a long-time partner at the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.
Jacques has been featured in ELLE Magazine, NBC News, Huffington Post, and the Miami Herald recognizing Jacques as Miami’s 2012 Top 40 Under 40 Leaders of Tomorrow. She was also featured on ABC’s WPLG Local 10 in the spring of 2012 for her entrepreneurial endeavor as a mom entrepreneur. In 2015, Jacq’s was awarded the Healings Spas & Lifestyle Beauty Award for Best Pregnancy Product. The brand has also been featured on Byrdie, Prevention, Women’s Health, Essence, Pop Sugar, and Allure. Jacques has been the key force behind JACQ’S.
QUOTE
“When I started thinking bigger, I was able to put certain things in place. You have to be financially and mentally ready to enter retail. Sometimes we think we are ready but we aren’t.”
Follow @shopjacqs @jacqsorganics or visit https://www.shopjacqs.com/!
Tune in to hear from Barbara Jacques and Kendra Bracken-Ferguson!
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