In Vicksburg, Mississippi, everyone owned something, at least in Sirobè Carstafhnur’s family.
Her great-grandpa had a snowball truck. Her grandparents and her Uncle Earl owned their own stores, too. Even though entrepreneurship runs in her blood, Carstafhnur, an architect by profession, never dreamed she would add to her family’s legacy.
Decades later, it’s a reality.
After leaving a career in architecture, Carstafhnur charted a new path into the beauty industry. Black consumers generate 11% of U.S. beauty sales, but Black-owned brands represent only 2.5% of the industry. Over the years, the lack of representation has dwindled with Black women such as Danessa Myricks and Rihanna making luxury skincare and cosmetic brands more accessible.
There are few Black women with Mississippi roots who have made a lasting mark on the world, the most well-known among them is Sarah Breedlove, known as Madam C.J. Walker. Walker, who made Vicksburg her home, created her own hair products, specialized in beauty care, and became a self-made millionaire.
Like Walker, Carstafhnur created her own products while empowering individuals to feel confident in their own skin. She didn’t do it alone: she had the support of her mother. The two — Carstafhnur, an architect, and her mother, a chemist — co-founded SIROBÈ, an all-natural skincare brand, contributing to the resurgence of Black-owned businesses over the past few years. Since 2017, Black woman-owned businesses have increased by nearly 72%, according to the Brookings Institute.
Each product crafted by SIROBÈ uses farm-to-table ingredients for diverse skin concerns, according to its website. The company has taken the Mississippi native to New York, where she currently lives, and earned her a feature in Forbes magazine. Her company offers spa days, skincare workshops, and created The Glow League, a “skincare-powered fundraiser” and ambassador program for student-athletes. Now, she’s pushing to scale her business, recently gaining her esthetician license to add more services beyond products.
The best part of her company isn’t the accolades. It’s the athletes who feel more bold and win more games; the women who tossed their full makeup routine to only focus on skincare; and the mother and child bonding over their skin care routines.
“The most beautiful thing has been the way people have changed how they feel about themselves,” she said.
From DIY skin regimens to birthing a business
Since adolescence, wellness has been a priority for Carstafhnur.
She ate from her grandparents’ garden, and by the age of 10, her mom put her on a skincare routine. She trained as a dancer, which meant tons of sweat and makeup to recitals. She then learned how to clean her face.
Ever since, she’s been complimented on her skin.
“When I was in Afghanistan for being an architect, I had a blood clot. I remember the Air Force lady that was in when I was being flown to the hospital. She’s like, ‘I know you feel really terrible … but I just wanted to tell you your skin looks really good’,” she recalled.
The journey to building a skincare business came years later.
Carstafhnur studied architecture at Mississippi State University, about 163 miles from her home. The university honored her with a Jurist Award. After graduation, she jumpstarted her career in Jackson, the state’s capital city, working on various projects, including the convention center.
While working in Milan, Italy on a project, Carstafhnur’s mom sent her care packages with beauty products. One day, she didn’t get to keep them. She got detained at customs because some of the ingredients in the products were illegal.
This moment opened her eyes to the clean beauty movement.
“With my mom being a chemist, it was like, ‘Let’s figure out what you can make there to use on your body and your hair, especially your face,’’ she said by phone.
When she returned to the U.S., she didn’t think about it again. Then, the pandemic hit and production started. “There became this big backlog with Sephora. I was like, I can’t wait four weeks or a month to get stuff to wash my face,” she said.
She sent samples to everybody she knew.
“We should be paying you for this right?” one person questioned.
“We basically incorporated it, and the business has been growing ever since,” she added.
For young entrepreneurs looking to build their own, she suggests they have a plan, find capital, and do a little bit at a time. Sometimes it takes people 10 years to achieve the success they’ve dreamed about, she said.
When she looks back over her career, she wants to be known for doing it her way.“It’s kind of like whatever way you did it, it’s your way. It doesn’t have to be defined. It doesn’t have to be undefined. However you get to that part is the way. It’s your story,” Carstafhnur said. “What makes you different, what makes you unique, makes you successful, so the legacy I want to leave behind is ‘you don’t have to have it figured out. You can just do it.’”