Black Beauty Collective to sell Black-owned skin and hair products, mainly by women entrepreneurs

CHICAGO (WLS) -- For a healthy glow of melanated skin, local esthetician Victoria Prince from Englewood created a line of skincare products to address issues women of color sometimes face.

"Skin care for melanated skin, there's always been a need," Prince said. "However, the products that are there aren't really tailored toward the skin."

The Tori Prince Beauty line is sold at her Bridgeport studio or online, but getting her products on the shelves of national stores has been a challenge, Prince said.

"Very hard," she said. "A lot of them want to already see that you've hit a certain amount of numbers - half a million, billion. And it's like, I'm trying to get to that point."

This spring, Prince's products will be among those sold at the Black Beauty Collective in Hyde Park.

Collective will be all Black-owned lines - mostly from women entrepreneurs -who designed products to care for and accentuate the natural beauty of melanated skin and diverse hair textures.

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"From the consumer side, ensuring there is a space for them," Black Beauty Collective founder Leslie Roberson said. "And from the entrepreneur side of the house, where they are getting the support and resources to scale their businesses to the next level."

Roberson, who is originally from Rockford, said she was frustrated trying to find products that were right for her and her daughter.

"When I'm running out to look for a product, I see it, I love it and I find myself running out to three or four major retailers but it's not there," Roberson said. "I think it's invaluable to have a place where you are welcomed, you are seen, you're heard, people value you and we have the things that you value."

The Collective's Chicago flagship store on Hyde Park Boulevard opens April 8 with stores in Houston, Washington, D.C. and Atlanta expected to follow.