Key Takeaways:Founder Julian Addo is fighting to maintain control of her beauty company amid mounting legal and financial challenges.A US judge has ruled that Adwoa Beauty’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection be converted to Chapter 7.The ruling closes a tumultuous chapter for Adwoa after a dispute with Aurous Financial escalated into litigation.Founder Julian Addo has been chronicling the brand’s financial struggles on Substack and social media amid the conflict with Aurous, a lender that had financed retail purchase orders.WHO: A former hairstylist, Julian Addo launched Adwoa Beauty in 2017 with a mission to shift the conversation around naturally curly hair, to market inclusively, and to encapsulate "the modernization of Black people." Today, the brand consists of 20 products priced from $24-$35, and it is stocked in Sephora, Cult Beauty, and Amazon, as well as being sold direct-to-consumer via its website.WHY: The brand exhausted its funding within three years and acknowledged strategic mistakes that led to financial pressures.DETAILS:Adwoa Beauty filed for Chapter 11 in October 2025. Aurous Financial Services filed a motion in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Texas, to convert the case to Chapter 7.This motion was granted in a hearing on May 1, according to court documents. Chapter 7 means that there can be no recovery for the business and that assets are sold off to repay debts.Addo has detailed her struggles financing the beauty brand and dispute with Aurous Financial Services on Substack, as well as on social media.