In a time when the beauty industry is being called to do better, for both people and planet, Indigenous entrepreneurs are showing what true sustainability looks like. Inspired by ecological wisdom, their approach goes beyond greenwashing and trend cycles. These Indigenous-owned brands are reclaiming ancestral practices and blending them with modern formulations to craft beauty products that nourish the body while honoring the land. Through each handmade bar of soap, each wild-harvested ingredient, and culturally grounded formula, these brands embody a holistic view of beauty, deeply connected to the Earth and community.
To explore how Indigenous beauty brands redefine sustainability, we sat down with the visionary founders behind Sister Sky, Dancing Butterfly Naturals, and Sequoia Soaps. Each shared their philosophies on sustainability, not just as a trend, but as a way of life deeply rooted in cultural knowledge, respect for the land, and long-standing ecological practices. From using locally foraged plants to handcrafting products in small batches, these founders are intentionally leading, proving that beauty can be ethical, ancestral, and earth-conscious.
Sister Sky
Sister Sky is a Native American, family-owned indie haircare brand dedicated to serving the mixed-texture hair community. Founded by sisters Marina and Monica, Sister Sky began as a kitchen experiment born out of frustration with the lack of hair care options for their mixed-texture hair, which is a common hair texture many Native Americans share. Today, it’s a beloved brand offering high-quality, plant-based products made with care and integrity. The duo emphasizes natural ingredients and holistic wellness, drawing from their cultural roots and family values.
Sustainability is core to their mission, reflected in their ingredient sourcing, production methods, and commitment to empowering customers to embrace their natural beauty. Their products are thoughtfully formulated with natural ingredients that are gentle, cruelty-free, and packaged in recyclable materials. Free from sulfates and parabens, Sister Sky’s haircare line is designed to be both good for humans and kind to the planet.
At Sister Sky, performance matters; their products are made to work for the unique needs of mixed-texture hair. In a market divided between solutions for straight or curly/coily hair, those with hair somewhere in between are often left without effective options. “As the U.S. becomes more ethnically diverse, mixed-texture hair is increasingly common, yet the beauty industry continues to overlook it,” explains co-founder Monica Simeon. “That’s why we created MinkiSoft—born from our own experience of not finding products that truly worked.”
What started as a small-scale passion project is a testament to the power of Indigenous entrepreneurship and sisterhood.
Dancing Butterfly Naturals
Dancing Butterfly Naturals is a fierce-femme Indigenous brand that offers pure, natural, and handmade plant-based skin and hair care products. Founder Addelina Lucero (Taos Pueblo and Yaqui) brings ancestral plant knowledge and a deep love for Mother Earth into every creation at Dancing Butterfly Naturals.
Founded in 2012 and named after her Tiwa name, Tsel’Moya Dahmah’ee, the brand reflects Addelina’s lifelong commitment to healing and sustainability. Her products, ranging from salves to shampoos, are handmade using wildcrafted herbs and organic ingredients sourced responsibly from trusted Native suppliers and growers.
Lucero’s products are free from artificial preservatives and are made with love, good energy, and prayer. Her packaging is BPA-free and made from recycled or eco-friendly materials. She also offers refill and larger options for many of our products to minimize packaging waste.
Dancing Butterfly Naturals’ guiding philosophy, “Love Yourself From the Inside Out,” emphasizes the importance of self-care, beginning from within and extending outward. “What we ingest influences our outer appearance,” explains Lucero. “Consuming or using unnatural products can affect not only how we look but also how we feel and think.” All Dancing Butterfly Naturals’ products embody this principle of self-kindness, encouraging mindfulness about what we let into and onto our bodies and spirits. Lucero, with her brand, honors the plant relatives during harvesting and processing, as sustainability is central to her philosophy. “This is important to our brand because we recognize that, as caretakers of the land, we are taught to honor Mother Earth and understand that when we care for her, she will reciprocate.”
But the impact of Dancing Butterfly Naturals goes far beyond skincare. It is an intergenerational learning space where Native youth are taught the traditional arts of foraging, herbal medicine, and land stewardship. For Addelina, beauty is a continuation of her farming, mothering, and teaching—a sacred practice of giving back to the earth as much as we take.
Some of their favorites are: Free Radical Face Serum, Prickly Pear Fruit Sugar Scrub (It’s divine!), Bpoo’La’Loo (Wild Plum) Lip Balm, Sweetgrass Essential Oil & the Chokecherry Jam Body Butter. Buy them at https://dancingbutterflynaturals.com
Sequoia Soaps
Engineer-turned-entrepreneur Michaelee Lazore (Kanien’kehá:ka and Northern Paiute) is the creative force behind Sequoia Soaps, a brand celebrated for its luxurious, culturally inspired soaps and candles. What started in her kitchen has evolved into an internationally known business with local roots and a sustainable mission.
Michaelee and her team craft everything by hand in their working studio, using biodegradable packaging and ethically sourced ingredients. With designs inspired by the seasons, Native stories, and the land, Sequoia is a beautiful reminder that sustainability can, and should, be a sensory experience rooted in culture and environmental care.
Sequoia Soaps uses 98-100% natural ingredients and 0-2% safe synthetic scent combinations in their formulations. According to Lazore, her team doesn’t just make products for others; they use them daily. “Our culture is all about balance with Mother Earth, and we cannot call ourselves proudly Indigenous if our products do not care about her,” explains Lazore.
“I named our brand Sequoia because of the immense longevity of Sequoia trees. I want young Indigenous female entrepreneurs on Turtle Island to see long-lasting female brands like ours as something to aspire to,” Michaelee says of the name. “It is important for our people to be known for our art, natural sciences, and culture, and to continue to be the ones who promote sustainability and balance with our Mother Earth.”
Some of her favorite products are Sweetgrass soap because “it was one of the first products I ever made and just represents our culture and our business, so it’s like one of my babies,” says Michaelee. “I personally have become very fond of our Strawberry Moon scent. The soap is so pretty, and the scent is just my cup of floral berries.” She added that even the name reflects the female spirit, as we are tied to our Grandmother Moon in our culture.
These Indigenous beauty brands are leading a quiet revolution—one that honors the land, the resilience of their ancestors, and the responsibility we all share in creating a more sustainable future. Their products offer more than physical nourishment; they are invitations to reconnect with culture, community, and the natural world. In choosing sustainable beauty rooted in Indigenous knowledge, we not only care for ourselves but also uphold the sacred balance between people and the planet.
