The first time most of us understood beauty wasn’t in a magazine or on a screen. It was in a chair. Spinning slightly too fast, feet dangling, cape velcroed too tight at the neck. The salon, the barbershop, the in-between spaces where Black kids learn early that looking put together is not optional, it’s ritual.
It’s where your stylist backs up your mom in real time. Don’t touch it. Don’t scratch it. Don’t mess it up before Sunday. It’s where your barber starts introducing discipline. Brush your hair. Add the pomade. Tie that durag before bed. Maintenance becomes muscle memory long before you realize it’s also identity.
For the 2026 Beauty and Grooming Awards kickoff, EBONY did what felt obvious and overdue. We took it back to where it all begins and dropped the salon right in the middle of Brooklyn. Not as nostalgia, but as infrastructure. A reminder that Black beauty has always been built in community, passed hand to hand, chair to chair.
From the door, it felt like a function. Guests walked in and were met with cocktails that understood the assignment. A Silk Press 75 that felt light but intentional. Oxblood Bloom with a little attitude. Midnight Fade, smooth and clean. Glossed and Glowing doing exactly what it said. Wine from Best Wines in rotation, because of course. The kind of menu that doesn’t just name the culture, it mirrors it.
And then people did what we always do. They found their people. Their plus ones turned into groups. Groups turned into conversations. And naturally, everyone gravitated to the heart of the room. EBONY’s version of the salon floor.
Savannah Taylor, EBONY’s Editorial Director, led the conversation like someone who knows the room and the responsibility. On one side, Dr. Michelle Henry, breaking down skin with the kind of clarity that cuts through TikTok noise. On the other hand, celebrity hairstylist Susy brought real-world hair wisdom that only comes from years behind the chair.
The conversation moved how good salon talk always does. Fluid, honest, a little unfiltered. They got into the myths we still carry. The idea that healthy hair starts with a style instead of the scalp. The reality that not every trending product is meant for your texture. The importance of knowing your porosity, your routine, your limits. It wasn’t just about what to use. It was about why.
They talked protective styles, but with nuance. Not just what looks good, but what actually protects. They reframed the salon as more than maintenance. It’s a safe space, yes, but also an educational hub. A place where information gets exchanged as much as services.
And in true EBONY fashion, the room reflected the culture it was speaking to. Jenee Naylor moving through with ease. Brandon Blackwood posted up in conversation. Edvin Thompson, CFDA’s American Emerging Designer of 2021, bringing that downtown-meets-Caribbean energy. Antoine Gregory, always intentional. Azariah Cartagena and Darrell Spence of Crown Skin rounding out a room that felt less like a guest list and more like a community check-in.
What EBONY proved that night is simple. Beauty and grooming for us has never just been about product. It’s about practice. It’s about passing things down. It’s about showing up for yourself before the world ever sees you.
And judging by the way nobody wanted to leave, the message landed.
