Before we became doctors, journalists, hairstylists, and makeup artists, nearly every Black girl was a “kitchen chemist.” Armed with little more than intuition and the passed-down wisdom of our matriarchs, we experimented—mixing, stirring, and perfecting homemade elixirs with love and an unshakable commitment to nurturing our curls. Store-bought formulas often lacked the care we craved, so we turned to what we knew: the tart sharpness of a mayonnaise, honey, egg, and olive oil hair mask smoothie, or the nourishing blend of shea butter and Jamaican black castor oil to seal our ends. Many of us eventually left the DIY blends behind, trading our concoctions for the few hair care brands marketed toward Black women. But Janell Stephens, CEO of Camille Rose, stayed in the kitchen a little longer—long enough to build a trusted beauty empire.
Helping people has always been Stephens’s guiding principle; she first channeled her interests into working as a speech pathologist while raising her five kids. One day, desperate to soothe her children’s chronic eczema, Stephens thought of her grandmother Camille Rose. Growing up, her grandmother rarely saw a doctor and, instead, relied on ancestral wisdom and homegrown salves to fix her and her family’s ailments. “She lived to be 99 years old with the most beautiful complexion, and I believe it was all tied to how she ate and cared for herself,” Stephens tells ELLE.com. Channeling her, Stephens blended natural ingredients to make a homemade healing balm. “I made this diaper rash cream, and it was magic,” she says. “I knew I had to help other parents.”
With one concern resolved, Stephens began carefully examining the labels on all the products she used for her and her family’s daily routines—particularly for hair care. Alarmed by the number of artificial ingredients she saw, she dedicated herself to overhauling her entire beauty regimen. Like her grandmother, she started making her own hair and body solutions. “If I enjoy eating a mango or drinking coconut water, why wouldn’t I use those same ingredients to nourish my skin and hair?” she explains. A new hobby emerged: producing and selling handmade potions free from any harsh chemicals or additives.
Her clients were her first patrons, and as interest grew, so did Stephens’s curiosity to learn more about herbs, oils, and other natural hair solves. Her philosophy was simple: “Black women will not be the last ones to know.”
In 2011, Stephens deepened her knowledge by working with an herbalist to explore Ayurvedic remedies and perfect her blends, then launched Camille Rose as a direct-to-consumer brand online. By 2012, her products were stocked and flying off shelves at Target, alongside other Black-owned hair care pioneers like SheaMoisture and Carol’s Daughter—all while Stephens was still hand-mixing batches in her kitchen.
Fast forward to 2025, Camille Rose stands as an anomaly in the industry. Black-owned with Stephens still at the helm as CEO, Camille Rose defies the trend of acquisitions that have left many consumers questioning whether their once-trusted brands are still truly “for us, by us.” With a new guava- and aloe-enriched detangling line and more Camille Rose Home products on the horizon, Stephens maintains she isn’t stepping aside soon.
Ahead, Janell Stephens opens up about maintaining ownership, navigating the beauty industry as an independent brand, and what it takes to stay afloat in an ever-evolving market.
Camille Rose has been around for years. How has the brand’s mission evolved from what it was in the beginning?
In 2012, just a year after launching my website, I met a Target buyer. I told them my story, and the next thing I knew, my products were on Target shelves. What many people don’t know is that during that first year in Target, I was still making every single product by hand, fulfilling orders myself. It completely wiped me out. But when I saw how quickly the products were moving off the shelves, I knew the consumer was speaking. I was like, “Okay, Janell, this is not a game—this is serious. Let’s shift how we do business with a big-box retailer and learn how to be a bigger brand, while ensuring I still have my core audience, I’m still speaking to them, and not compromising on my products.”
Did you have a background in business before launching Camille Rose?
I didn’t. I was in the allied health field, so I have a master’s in science and worked as a speech and language pathologist. That’s the only science background I had before stepping into the beauty industry. I didn’t study business, but I learned through experience and necessity.
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You mentioned that the consumer was speaking. What kind of feedback were you getting from customers and retailers, and how did that shape your business approach?
When I say the consumer was speaking, I mean that the products were flying off the shelves. I launched alongside other great brands, and over time, some of them disappeared from the shelves while Camille Rose remained. That was my confirmation that this was serious, and I needed to develop a real business strategy.
As for tools, I had little money, so I relied heavily on social media. Back then, Facebook was big, and then Instagram took off. I leaned into organic growth—getting products into the hands of influencers who genuinely loved them and shared them with their followers. It was all authentic, which helped build our loyal community.
What were some of the biggest hurdles you faced in growing Camille Rose, and how did you navigate them?
How to find a laboratory and how to get somebody to help me make the product, so I could scale so I wouldn’t be late on orders. I had no idea where to look, how much it would cost, or what to expect. Many manufacturers didn’t want to work with me because they considered my formulations “food-based.” They’d suggest synthetic alternatives, because it was cheaper, but I would tell my story, I would tell my beliefs, and they would be dismissive. I called myself a kitchen chemist, so imagine me walking into their laboratory and telling their chemist what I like and don’t like.
One chemist even told me that their “grandmother got a perm and lived just fine.” There was a lot of pushback and ego. Eventually, I found a manufacturer willing to work with me, but under one condition: I had to personally purchase and supply every single ingredient. So, even though I wasn’t physically making the products, I was still spending money as if I were.
I didn’t know anything about this industry, so he kept telling me my orders were too small, until I met another manufacturer at an industry show, and he was shocked when he heard my order amount. He told me it wasn’t small at all. When I realized I had been misled, I was livid. But that experience taught me so much about the business side of manufacturing and how important it is to understand your worth.
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Many founders struggle to scale while maintaining their brand’s integrity. How have you ensured that Camille Rose stays true to its original mission?
What makes Camille Rose different is that I created my own formulas from scratch. Nowadays, if you want to own a hair care company or any company, they’ll start with a manufacturer first and work together to develop a product. I am a self-taught formulator myself, so I know how to talk their language. That knowledge gives me control over my brand’s quality, and our customers trust us, because they know I truly understand our ingredients and formulas.
How do you actively engage with your community to ensure you’re meeting their needs?
Definitely through social media and grassroots events. I’m at the hair shows. I’m there in person, touching hair, demonstrating products, and talking directly with customers. I also get a ton of DMs and emails from people reaching out, and I make myself available to my consumer.
What’s your secret to staying ahead of trends and deciding on new product launches?
I lead all research and development myself, and my inspiration often comes from my personal lifestyle. For example, when we launched the Mint Condition collection, the star ingredient was sea moss. At the time, I was really into juicing with sea moss and learning about its minerals and health benefits. I thought, “If it’s good for the inside, it must be good for the outside,” and that led to incorporating it into our formulations. It’s always an organic process for me.
What gaps do you see in the market, and how does Camille Rose fill them?
The biggest one right now is that there aren’t a lot of made “for us, by us” brands left. I feel like I need Camille Rose to be that. I’m honored to speak for my hair type, my texture, my skin tone, my community, because who knows it better? I’m a consumer myself, and I’m making products for me and my people.
As a beauty brand founder, what’s the last hair care product you purchased from another brand?
I recently bought an edge gel! I won’t say the brand, but I picked it up near the register. Edge control is something I feel is missing from our collection, so I’ve been testing different formulas as we work on perfecting our own strong-hold edge gel.
Black-owned brands often face unique challenges with funding, retail partnerships, and recognition. What has your experience been, and what changes would you like to see in the beauty industry?
I chose to be self-funded, which allowed me to maintain complete control, but funding is a big challenge for many founders. Retail partnerships have also changed. I think I went in at the time when they were looking heavily for natural brands, so it was kind of the right place, right time. I wish I could tell you how I did it, but I put myself out there and did beauty shows. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty and start real small and do the little shows where you don’t even think people will show up.
One major change I’d like to see is a more flexible pay scale for brands of different sizes. Right now, all brands—big or small—are held to the same financial standards when it comes to marketing and in-store promotions. But a smaller, independently-owned brand doesn’t have the same resources as a massive one, so it would be great if retailers recognized that and adjusted accordingly.
Where do you stand on the use of celebrity ambassadors and social media influencers vs. the actual Camille Rose community?
We have a tight community we call “Rosettes.” We stand heavy on our micro-influencers because the micros are the ladies that are at Publix grocery shopping and want to get on TikTok Live to share what they’ve been buying. That type of testimonial has more weight—it’s so tangible and relatable. That is what I love, because that’s who I was.
Has acquisition ever been a consideration for you?
I considered it last week when I was exhausted. [Laughs] But honestly, I love this journey. Camille Rose is still growing, and I’m enjoying every step of the way. We’re one of the top Black-owned hair care brands, and I’m so proud to say that.
Do you think about legacy? What do you want yours to be?
I do. My goal is to expand beyond hair care and have Camille Rose products in every category—home, baby, skin care, and body. I want retailers to recognize the brand’s potential in multiple spaces. My legacy is about representation and ensuring that a Black-owned brand can thrive across different categories and remain a household name for generations to come.