When Katonya Breaux saw a mole in the mirror, she quickly made an appointment with her dermatologist, only to be told it was caused by sun damage.
“And I’m like, ‘Wait, stop the presses. I’m Black. Black people don’t get sun damage. What are you talking about?’” Breaux says. “We just didn’t grow up using [sunscreen] because we didn’t think we needed it.”
She headed straight to the drugstore to sample sunscreens, and soon discovered many of the formulas left residues and were not made with her skin tone in mind.
Determined to make inclusive SPF products, Breaux launched Unsun Cosmetics not only to protect against moles, hyperpigmentation and wrinkles caused by the sun, but also educate people of color on the hazards of sun damage.
“We do get cancer. And while we don’t get it as often, we die more. And we die more, why? Because we don’t think we need sunscreen,” Breaux says. “By the time we figure it out, go to the doctor, quite often, it’s too late.”
Unsun Cosmetics is one of the small businesses selected for the NRF Foundation and Qurate Retail Group’s Small Business Spotlight program. Listen to the full episode to hear Breaux discuss her entrepreneurial journey, founding Unsun Cosmetics and navigating COVID-19 as a Black-owned business.
Click here to learn more about the 2021 Small Business Spotlight Program and apply before Feb. 26.
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