Glamour Magazine: The Best Skincare and Beauty Buys for Your New Year's Beauty Overhaul

Rolling Out - Yangu Beauty creator Sipho Gumbo says women of color define her brand

"Sipho Gumbo is an entrepreneur and philanthropist. She is the founder of Yangu Beauty, a beauty line that promotes the use of ancient African oils and modern chemistry to create skin care products specifically designed for Black and Brown women.

She also founded Munhu Inc., a charitable organization that has supported 12,000 children orphaned by AIDS in rural Zimbabwe.

As a Black woman, what do you consider your superpower to be?

[I am a] visionary.

What key skills make you unique as an African American female leader?

Being able to see people of color in history past and history future. My skills are creativity, focus and tenacity, guided by the knowledge that we are in [the] process of conquering the world. I want Black people to conquer the world through wealth creation and our knowledge set, not to be leaders of organizations created by others. [I want us] to lead the world with organizations created by us. I see the past and the future.

Why is it important for women of color to work in leadership roles and decision-making capacities?

In the U.S., I find that women of color are underestimated. … In Africa, Zimbabwe, Bantuthere, is a proverb that says, “Musha mukadzi,” a home is a woman. What that sums up is that, without a woman, there is no family. Without a woman, there is no Black society, Bantu or African American. In Bantu divination iconography, there is the symbol of the young woman as the progenitor and equally important symbol of the older woman as the ropes that tie the entire family, past and present, together through time, and in time. We are the essence of Blackness itself.

What encouraging piece of advice would you give to your younger self?

Believe in yourself. There is none better than you, despite what the world says. Then just do it. Do not wait for the perfect moment. Problems are opportunities. Start the project.

Why is it important for experienced Black women to reach back and help younger women of color?

It fits the iconography of the woman as the tie or rope that binds. We have always been doing this, reaching back and helping the young women become the ties that bind, become the future, become the leaders. It’s prescribed in our DNA. When these young women succeed, they continue us. With older women holding their hands, they can show them the way forward confidently as they will also do when their time comes.

As a successful woman in business, what is your proudest achievement?

In business, the proudest moment was the launching of Yangu Beauty, the skin care line for women of color. It is the proudest moment because I managed to create a luxurious line using ancient African oils and wisdom from our foremothers combined with cutting- edge chemistry to produce a product line to make women of color’s beauty shine."

Read Full Article on Rolling Out

---------------------

Naturally Curly: The Best 3 Black-Owned Businesses for Every Beauty-Obsessed Curlista

Naturally Curly - The Best 3 Black-Owned Businesses for Every Beauty-Obsessed Curlista

 

"Sipho Gumbo, the creator of Yangu Beauty and the Cleansing Whip with YMB Complex that I love so much, says that the company "uses unique properties of ancient African oils to gently cleanse, provide balanced moisture, protect from environmental stresses and eliminate hyperpigmentation and scarring for even skin tone." I have found this to be 100% true for my skin, which has been prone to darkening and hyperpigmentation. It has been a lifesaver for me!"

Read Full Article on Naturally Curly

---------------------

D Magazine - How Yangu Beauty Changed the Way I Look at Skincare

By MARRISSA ROBINSON

As a woman of color, I was ignoring the most important factor in my skin care: my color.

Choosing the best products for your skin can involve just as much fruitless strategy and frustration as The Price Is Right Plinko game. Picking a face cream feels no different than dropping your coin into the honeycomblike grid, hoping it lands in the best place as you helplessly watch it ricochet down to the bottom of the board. That’s why coming across the Yangu Beauty line, by Southlake-based Zimbabwe native Sipho Gumbo, boggled my mind.

A month after I started using her products, my skin was so clear that someone asked me—me—if I was vegan. As a point of reference, I recently had to request that my friends stop giving me pork-based gifts. Although I’m not vegan, Yangu Beauty’s full line is. It doesn’t use animal-derived products, bleaches, sulfates, artificial colors, or other cruddy chemicals.

What goes in your skin care matters. And the whole oily-normal-dry-combination assessment is important in choosing a line, too. But if I were a betting woman, I’d wager a million dollars that you couldn’t guess one of the biggest considerations a woman of color should hold when choosing skin care. It is, in fact, her color.

Now, if you’re taken aback, bear with me. Focusing on color isn’t just about the color; it’s more so about the implications that come with it—pore size, moisture needs, sun exposure, the list goes on. So the premise of a skin care line developed for women of color makes sense. We know that kinky, curly tresses require totally different care. It’s also why makeup lines that boast inclusion and the ability to find any shade, like Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty, are such a hit. Not many moons ago, black women were just hoping and wishing for a shade that matched their skin when getting makeup done professionally—even as models.

Keep Reading on D Magazine

---------------------

Voyage Dallas: Meet Sipho Gumbo of Yangu Beauty in Northwest Dallas

Voyage Dallas - Meet Sipho Gumbo of Yangu Beauty

By: Voyage Dallas

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sipho Gumbo.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Sipho. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.

Growing up in rural Zimbabwe gave me a true understanding and knowledge of African flora and fauna. It was the lessons from childhood — river baths, sharing ancient beauty secrets and day to day lessons from my grandmother, aunts and community that helped me to develop the understanding of what it is to be a beautiful African woman.

It is from these roots that the inspiration for developing Yangu Beauty was derived.

I have always had extremely sensitive skin and as I got older it seemed to be getting worse. It was during my search for products that I could use on my skin (that did not have a tingling sensation) that I realized that women with darker skin tones have specific skin challenges which include: easy scarring and development of dark spots, dark circles under the eyes and puffy eyes, high irritation to many chemicals used in current cosmetic lines (tingling skin during use), and scarring acne. Ethnic skin tends to have larger pores which create production of excess sebum and this causes skin breakouts.

With my knowledge of ancient African oils and herbs that my grandmother and women in the village used when I was growing up, I decided to seek help from a veteran cosmetic chemist and from my husband (as a pharmacologist) to come up with a gentle line for women of color. Yangu Beauty used the power of cutting edge chemistry and pharmacology, African oils identified as soothing the skin since ancient times, and different types of African herbs as ingredients, to create a complete skin care line for women of color. The cosmetic line is fully vegan and relies on renewable resourcing and sourcing from African women who harvest them as part of their employment. It is created for women, by women.

Has it been a smooth road?

Entrepreneurship is never a smooth ride. It is particularly difficult being an immigrant woman of color. We have had our fair share of challenges.

The cosmetics industry is a very competitive industry especially for a new brand. We are a very unique brand for a very unique market. Getting the word out about this wonderful product line has been difficult. The products are amazing but people have to know about us. We have had to work hard to get known and have people trust us enough to try the products.

It is because of how common sensitive skin is to women of color that it is not easy even to convince people to try the products. Developing relationships with customers for them to be willing to try the products makes the process long. Those who try the products absolutely love them.

Another challenge that is common to start ups that we have faced is getting funding. It has been difficult to get the type of funding needed and to maximize awareness of the product line. We are still working on getting more people to know about the brand as well as seeking funding so that we can ramp up our growth.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Yangu Beauty – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.

I am a wife, mother, philanthropist, and entrepreneur born in Zimbabwe, Africa to Xhosa and Ndebele parents. I studied and attained my Bachelor of Arts degree in Traditional African Literature and received my graduate certificate in Healthcare Administration. I continued my education and attained an MBA in International Business thereafter. As the creator and founder of Yangu Beauty and Munhu, Inc. — a non-profit that supports and educates children orphaned by AIDS, I have always been passionate about helping my community and inspiring others to embrace and love themselves for who they are.

Founding Yangu Beauty has been such a joy. It is an evolving, Dallas-based scientifically advanced skincare line that uses traditional Bantu beauty herbs that have been tried and tested by African women over millennia. It is a natural, vegan, plant-based line that is free of parabens, animal products and artificial coloring. Women in Southern Africa gather the ingredients in an eco-friendly manner and it is a line created by women, specifically for women of color.

I am most proud that it is changing the lives of so many women, and helping them to see their skin and themselves more beautifully than ever before.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?

I love that there are so many diverse women and that Dallas is a progressive city that is open to the success of more private and independent beauty companies.

At times, it does seem that the Dallas beauty industry can be a tad oversaturated, however the quality of our product makes an impact with every customer who interacts with it, so we’re excited to see what the future holds for Yangu Beauty.

Keep reading on Voyage Dallas

---------------------

Black Texas Magazine: YANGU BEAUTY WINS EDITOR'S CHOICE AWARDS

Black Texas Magazine  - Yangu Beauty Wins Beauty Editor's Choice Award

By: NICK BAILEY

Dallas-based skincare company Yangu Beauty is the recent recipient of the 2018 Editor’s Choice Awards by Naturally Curly for three out of its 12 skincare products. Awarded Editor’s Choice for its Cleansing Whip, Gel to Milk Cleanser, and Even-Tone Serum, Yangu Beauty is undeniably the go-to source in technologically advanced skin care, specifically for women of color.

“We are happy to be recognized by Naturally Curly, and they have confirmed us as the best in facial care,” Yangu Beauty Founder Sipho Gumbo stated. “For us as a brand, this means that the market we had in mind has given us an affirmation and confidence. We are truly honored and will go boldly to produce more amazing products for our clients.”

Translated as “My Beauty” in most Bantu and KiSwahili African languages, Yangu Beauty takes the ancient wisdom of tried-and-true herbs, plants, and oils of the South African foremothers and combines them with cutting edge technology for an award-winning line developed by women for women of color. It is a natural, vegan, plant-based line that is free of parabens, animal products and artificial coloring.

The complete skin care line can be found on YanguBeauty.com, which will include the three Yangu Beauty Naturally Curly Editor’s Choice award-winning products...

Keep Reading on Black Texas Magazine

---------------------

Crwnd Life - 10 Brands for Us

Crwnd Life - 10 Brands for Us

By: CRWND LIFE

Celebrities and other influential people in the black community are continually advocating and pushing the narrative for the need for black people to own their own businesses as a way to generate income and support their livelihoods. Fortunately, the message seems to be sinking in and we are witnessing more black people open their own businesses. The following are just some of the few black owned businesses that are successful and changing the status quo one day at a time.

“Yangu” is a Kiswahili language which means mine and therefore the name Yangu Beauty simply means “My Beauty.” This is an indicator that this company
has borrowed heavily from mother Africa. It does not stop with the name, some of the natural ingredients used in making their products have been used for ages in certain parts of Africa. These products are combined with other technologically and clinically approved ingredients to produce quality skincare products for black women. Based in Southlake Texas, Yangu Beauty seeks to provide more skin care options for women of color who have been largely sidelined by major
personal care companies. Yangu Beauty have a wide range of products and all their products are made of safe and free of any colorants.

Keep Reading on Crwnd Life