Twenty-five year old scientist and entrepreneur Azsaunna Bryant is on a mission to address hyperpigmentation, where darker patches of skin occur from excess melanin production.
Bryant's startup, Mesa-based Melanin Is, has entered the $500 billion beauty industry with her patented product aimed at capturing a segment of the market, namely clients with concerns about hyperpigmentation, a common condition. It is more challenging in darker than lighter skin tones, with more than 65% of African Americans experiencing symptoms, according to the Skin of Color Society.
The company launched in 2021 in Bryant's home state of Georgia, after she graduated from Albany State University, a historically Black school. She then moved to Arizona to pursue a master's degree in physician assistant studies in Mesa at A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine.
With her undergraduate degree in biological science and minor in botany, Bryant knew that some ingredients used in products to treat hyperpigmentation had negative effects. She wanted to create a product that wasn’t toxic and delivered long-term results.
“I noticed that all of the solutions that doctors would recommend for us were toxic, like steroids to help fix hyperpigmentation and eczema,” Bryant said. "I was frustrated and also annoyed that doctors knew these things but no one did the research for our community in order to fix our concerns.”
Looking for a natural product
Bryant set out to create a product that offered a natural-based relief for melanated skins, especially those prone to hyperpigmentation, rather than a commonly recommended product such as Vaseline. Petroleum jelly has a unique capacity to penetrate melanin and provide some hydrated relief, but it's not a natural product, she said.
“We used what we knew about melanin skin and created a patent-pending formulation that can naturally penetrate, but it also rejuvenates your actual melanin, and introduces oxygen to that cell,” Bryant explained. “So, not only are you getting rejuvenated skin cells, but you're getting that added hydration that your skin was already missing.”
Bryant's formulation is called HaloSeal and is used in the line’s 72-hour Intense Hydration and Replenishing Lotion. The brand’s hyperpigmentation product is called Sunless Melanin Enhancer, which the company claims will promote an even complexion and reduce the appearance of cellulite.
She declined to share the specific ingredients in her proprietary products but said that they are all natural. Bryant also said she is not adverse to using the term chemical when describing beauty products.
“We do educate all of our consumers, all skin care is chemical, and whatever you put onto your body, introduce to it, even if it is shea butter, it is a chemical reaction that you want to consider for your skin,” Bryant said. “So, we do a lot of education when it comes to kind of myth-busting and how you should actually see skin care and take the approach to it. But, our formulation is 100% organic and natural."
Funding her beauty venture
The road to create a niche beauty line isn't always smooth, especially when it comes to securing funding, which can be challenging for some minority business owners.
“When it comes to friends and family rounds, for Black families, we actually raise one-twelfth of the amount of what a White family will raise, and the highest cap for that is around $5,000,” Bryant said. “I think that's really important to note, because $5,000 actually is not a lot to start a business.”
Bryant figures she is fortunate because she took a portion of the money she received from an academic scholarship and used $10,000 of it for product research.
Toward the end of her senior year in college, she reached out to a dermatologist of color, because she felt like something was missing. Bryant funded a three-month stay in Seattle, where she was able to use the dermatologist’s lab for free and do clinical trials.
Even though she had additional expenses such as FDA testing, getting specific tools and making sure that they were quantifying the right things, Bryant said it was great for the business.
To do additional testing, Bryant’s mother cosigned for a $2,000 credit card that she charged up and paid off each month. Six months later, Bryant was able to leverage another $25,000 in credit to bootstrap her business.
The self-funding that Bryant did for her business is in line with a Fundera study that reported 44% of Black business owners use their own cash to start their venture. The study also reported that the average level of startup capital for Black entrepreneurs is $35,205, which also aligns with Bryant's initial investment.
For now, she's keeping her day job
Bryant, who still works full time for Amazon as the company's global operations manager and strategy, also had the opportunity to participate in accelerator programs for startups in 2022 and 2023 that helped pay the bills: $5,000 from Target Forward Founders; $5,000 from Digital Undivided; and $4,000 in credit and ads from Amazon Black Business Accelerator. She also participated in the McKinsey Next 1B program.
The skin care company announced that they are the recipient of the MetLife Foundation People's Choice Award, and stated that the organization has provided valuable support, with Melanin Is receiving strategic guidance from MetLife CMO Micheal Roberts. In Q1 of 2023 the company saw a 69% increase in sales month over month.
Melanin Is started selling products in December 2022 and by June of this year had sold a little over $50,000 worth. Bryant isn’t quitting her successful day job until the business has consistent revenue growth.
“Since we just started selling products in December … we want to see more of a consistent revenue growth, and as soon as we get to that consistent revenue growth, we plan on coming on full time — hopefully by the end of this year, we can make that happen," Bryant said. "We just need the marketing support to kind of just drive us there, so more people can learn about our brand and come to us for their needs.
The advice that Bryant offers to other aspiring beauty entrepreneurs is to find mentorship. She said one of the biggest things that people of color miss is the ability to have direction that can help them excel and that “a lot of times mentors have done what you want to do. And you can get to where you're going a lot faster if you just have access to resources.”
She also likes to take advantage of a well-known social media platform to help run the business: LinkedIn.
“Never be afraid to just message somebody and ask a question,” Bryant said.
