VILLAGEx 2023 Founder Friday: Bea's Bayou Skincare
Founder Fridays is a series that spotlights VILLAGEx founders and their startups
Arielle Brown, the founder and CEO of Bea's Bayou Skincare, a startup that specializes in natural skincare products, knows firsthand what it's like to struggle with a skin condition. Arielle launched her startup in 2020 after experiencing difficulty finding a healthy and natural solution to her own skin condition, Seborrheic dermatitis. Today, Arielle’s herbal, probiotic scalp care brand is growing and helping people across the region and country with problematic eczema-prone scalp and skin. Here is her story.
Arielle was diagnosed with Seborrheic dermatitis during her teenage years, a common skin condition that mainly affects the scalp. The condition causes scaly patches, inflamed skin, and stubborn dandruff. Whenever her condition flared up, Arielle experienced redness, bumps, hair thinning, and a burning itch that led her to seek medical advice from a dermatologist.
"Twice in 20 years, I went to dermatologists, and each time I was prescribed medicated shampoos that dried my hair and steroid cream that was unpleasant to use, greasy, and unhealthy.” shares Arielle. “In the summer of 2020, I'd had enough of it and was tired of spending money on products that didn't work.”
Despite using medicated shampoos and steroid creams, Arielle's scalp remained dry and unpleasant. She decided to take matters into her own hands and started experimenting with all-natural skincare remedies.
"I had already added digestive enzymes and probiotics to my diet years before, so the lightbulb went off during another scalp flare-up: 'Why not see if probiotics could help my skin, not only from within, but topically?' I researched, ordered ingredients, and whipped up a cream. I hated it– haha! I started over to make it liquid and it worked quickly after application!" explains Arielle.
After experiencing success with her home made, natural skincare remedy, Arielle began selling her product on Etsy, which quickly gained popularity. With the encouragement of a friend who had tried it on her daughter's skin, Arielle decided to incorporate her business and find a manufacturer in the United States.
To date, Airelle has raised over $170,000 in non-dilutive funding for Bea's Bayou Skincare from organizations such as Black Girl Ventures, Amazon Black Business Accelerator,, Stitchcrew, Digital Undivided Breakthrough NOLA, Aveeno Essence Skin Health Pitch, Fund Black Founders Crowdfund/Grant, and Glosswire/Cosmoprof. And is currently raising her first $1.5M seed round to scale her business and provide more people with natural solutions to help heal their skin. Arielle is also a 2022 alumni of The Idea Village BIPOC program, IDEAfuel.
Arielle is committed to seeing her business through to its full potential and providing more people with a skin soothing solution in a unique, healthy, and accessible way.
Q & A
(Responses have been edited for clarity)
What’s your best piece of startup advice for an entrepreneur in your industry?
Arielle: “Educate yourself and surround yourself with supportive people who encourage you and help connect you for growth. Any other energy around you HAS to go! Also, follow-up like no one else. Do not let opportunities pass you by, because of fear or laziness.”
Why startup in New Orleans?
Arielle: “Though I'm a Lafayette, LA native, I have been living in New Orleans since 2011. I came here for graduate school at Southern University New Orleans and I was practicing as an LMSW, focusing on trauma counseling with children. I LOVED my work, but entrepreneurship has been calling me and life has been preparing me for the journey that I could not deny. That connection to the city has supported my personal and professional growth since I got here. On top of that, The Idea Village has been supportive to me since I curiously Googled for help in 2020 and found their team, and their network and resources are undeniably solid. The founders here are amazing and down-to-earth. I'm a Louisiana girl through and through, and I would move to build my company, because I believe in that much. However, how amazing it is when you just don't have to.”
How do you hope you and your business evolve while in the VILLAGEx program?
Arielle: “I have evolved so much already. I am raising a $1.5M seed round for my first time, and the mentors and connections that have come from VILLAGEx, from finance, legal, operations, is amazing! I wanted to see myself go from unsure to having laser-focused clarity, and that is just what happened. [I hope the company’s brand awareness broadens throughout] the local community through the program and we hit our funding goal! [I would love that!]”