Ep 25: Barbara Jacques, JACQ'S Clean skincare- Journey to Sustainable & Self-funded
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The journey of a sustainable brand has many steps and one of the first steps is discovering the reason for your existence.
On today’s episode, I chatted with Barbara Jacques, Founder and Creative Director of JACQ'S, a vegan and clean beauty skincare line for women of color. Barbara shared how her childhood, past experiences, and a health diagnosis propelled her into founding JACQ'S. Her journey to a sustainable and self-funded brand is genuinely inspirational. Through the ups and downs of each phase of the brand, Barbara has kept her eyes on the prize - creating clean products for women of color.
Born to Haitian parents who were both entrepreneurs, Barbara watched her mother rise to become one of the top Haitian women in the importation and exportation business. Though her parents' work inspired her entrepreneurial journey, Barbara’s goal had always been to get a Public Relations position at a non-profit company. However, shortly after graduation, her plans changed abruptly when she discovered that she was pregnant and had a tumor. This bittersweet interruption led her to skincare product research and one key result of her research was that many of the products marketed to Black women were harmful.
This discovery led to the birth of JACQ’s Skincare. The brand which started as a side hustle, and is now featured online at Target.
Barbara shares her experiences building a sustainable and self-funded brand and her wisdom for turning losses into life lessons. From creating products in her kitchen to becoming one of the first Haitian brands on Target shelves, you are guaranteed to learn a thing or two.
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About Barbara Jacques:
Barbara Jacques is the Founder and Creative Director of Jacq’s, a vegan and clean beauty skincare line created to help women slay naturally. Barbara created Jacq's after a health scare during her pregnancy. She began studying green medicine and holistic plant botany to cope with her illness. 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 to help inform women about the effects of toxins in beauty and bath products. She also wanted to create products that addressed real skincare concerns like hyperpigmentation, acne, and protecting your skin as you age.
Beauty products for Black Women are much more harmful because the products are harmful, hazardous, and contain toxic ingredients compared to 60% of the beauty products sold and marketed to non- Blacks. Jacq's is committed to the purest, most ethical sourcing and formulating for safe and sustainable production. The brand creates products that help women slay most naturally, using glass packaging and sourcing organic ingredients. Launched in 2012, Jacq’s is a Green America certified business that’s Peta approved, cruelty-free, and an endorser of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.
Jacques has been featured in ELLE Magazine, NBC News, Huffington Post, and the Miami. Herald recognized 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, Thoughtfully Magazine, Mama Glow, Hype Hair, Blavity, DailyCandy, Organic Spa Magazine, Houston Style Magazine, and Huffington Post. Jacques has been the key force behind Jacq’s.
To connect further with JACQ’s Skincare:
Visit the JACQ’s Skincare website: www.shopjacqs.com
Follow JACQ’s Skincare on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shopjacqs/
Follow JACQ’s Skincare on Twitter: https://twitter.com/shopjacqs
Follow JACQ’s Skincare on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shopjacqs
Follow JACQ’s Skincare on Ticktock: https://www.tiktok.com/shopjacqs
Follow Barbara Jacques on Linkedin: Barabara Jacques
Connect with Black on Shelf:
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Visit the Black on Shelf website: https://www.blackonshelf.com
Watch the full interview on Youtube: https://youtu.be/RZdGkYwK4w8