There are a few things you don’t forget growing up Black. The smell of pressing comb grease heating up on a Sunday morning. The sound of a clipper lining you up sharp enough to walk into church like you had somewhere important to be, even if you didn’t. The quiet panic of picture day when your hair wasn’t sitting right. The way your mother, your auntie, your grandma would look you up and down before you left the house and say, “Go fix yourself.” Or your older sibling or cousin would do it for you.
Beauty and grooming in Black households have never been optional. They are ritual. They are respected. They are presentation and protection at the same time.
Before we knew what a serum was, we knew what it meant to be put together.
Sunday mornings set the tone. Hair pressed, curls defined, parts crisp, shoes shined. From there, it carried into everything else. School picture day. First crushes in the hallway. High school dances where your outfit had to land, and your skin had to cooperate. Prom nights that felt like red carpets before we even understood what that meant. Sixteenth birthdays, family functions, weekends outside with friends, where you were being seen meant being ready.
And then adulthood hits, and the stakes don’t necessarily change; they just evolve.
Now it’s dinners, events, dates, the club, the function, the room you need to walk into and own. And the truth is simple. If your hair is not done, if your makeup is not hitting, if your skin is acting up, if your beard is not right, or your line-up is off, it will sit on your confidence in a way that is hard to shake. You feel it before anyone even says a word. Sometimes you don’t even want to show up.
That’s the unspoken part of beauty and grooming in our community. It’s not just about aesthetics. It’s about how you carry yourself through the world.
And while the industry has finally caught up to the language we’ve been speaking for decades, skincare routines, targeted treatments and ingredient education, we still reach for the classics. The same jar of Vaseline is sitting in the house like a trusted elder. The multi-use, passed-down, always-there product that has never once failed us.
That duality, innovation and inheritance, is exactly where the 2026 EBONY Beauty and Grooming Awards live.
This year’s awards are not just a list of what’s new or what’s trending. They are a reflection of how we actually live. Tested in real routines, across real households, across generations. What works when you’re getting ready in a rush. What holds up through a full day. What earns a permanent place on the counter, in the bag, in the cabinet.
The core categories tell that story clearly.
Face is where science meets skin stories, the products keeping our complexions clear, hydrated, protected and ready for whatever the day brings, whether you’re 22 or 52.
Body reminds us that body care is self-care, celebrating oils, butters, washes and SPF that actually understand melanin-rich skin.
Hair is crown care in all its forms, from coils to locs to silk presses to fades, honoring versatility and real-life routines.
Makeup and Nails center what has always mattered to us: color payoff, shade range, longevity, products that understand our undertones and our moods.
Fragrance leans into scent as storytelling, the kind that lingers and makes people stop you mid-step to ask what you’re wearing.
Tools highlight the unsung heroes, the brushes, devices and razors that quietly make everything better.
And Men’s grooming meets Black men exactly where they are, and where they’re going, with products that prioritize care, not gimmicks.
But this year, EBONY pushed the conversation further.
Beauty in our community doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s generational. It’s cultural. It’s evolving in real time.
The addition of Parent Approved recognizes that the next generation is coming up faster, smarter and more tapped in than ever. These are the products that sit at that delicate intersection, gentle enough for teens, trusted by parents and still cool enough to earn a spot in their daily routine.
Clean Beauty enters the chat with intention, not as a trend but as a standard. Transparency, ingredient integrity, and performance that does not compromise. Proof that clean can still be luxurious, effective and made with us in mind.
And then there are the honorees, which feel less like awards and more like cultural acknowledgments.
The Culture Carrier Award goes to Jackie Aina of FORVR Mood, a brand that does not just participate in culture but actively builds it, invests in it and reflects it back to us with intention.
The HBCU Beauty Innovator award honors Melissa Butler of The Lip Bar, whose journey from the classroom to retail shelves represents both legacy and forward motion.
The OG Staple being awarded to Vaseline feels like a full-circle moment, a reminder that not everything needs reinvention to remain essential.
Trendsetter’s Choice goes to EADEM Lip Balm, a product that has taken over timelines and group chats alike.
Skincare for the Melanin-Rich highlights Topicals Faded Serum, addressing hyperpigmentation with the kind of specificity we have always needed.
The MVP title lands on Danessa Myricks Beauty Colorfix, a product that moves across faces, looks, and uses without missing a beat.
The Grooming King Award honors Chris Collins, representing a refined, elevated approach to men’s grooming and fragrance.
Jayda Cheaves represents the Next Gen Beauty Boss in real time, under 30 and already shaping the industry with a sharp understanding of digital culture, direct-to-consumer power, and a vision that speaks to a generation that knows exactly what it wants and how it wants to see itself.
And the Next Gen Teen Beauty Boss spotlight on Coco Granderson of Yes Day signals exactly where the future is headed, young, sharp and culturally fluent.
What ties all of this together is not just product excellence. It’s context.
These awards understand that beauty and grooming for us have always been about more than looking good. It’s about showing up for yourself. It’s about the pride of being seen the way you intended. It’s about the small, everyday rituals that build confidence long before the big moments arrive.
EBONY isn’t trying to be first with this. It’s trying to be right.
Because in our community, beauty has never been surface-level. It’s been a language. A discipline. A legacy.
And in 2026, it still is.