The influence of social media on today’s beauty landscape stands on phenomenal grounds and is in part due to the sway and mastery certain creators have over consumers. However, these platforms, once heralded as a democratic avenue for anyone to be seen and heard, have become an increasingly toxic and exclusionary space, mostly for Black beauty creators, forcing them to look for ways to create their own safe spaces. “Community is the best way to define a safe place for Black beauty creators online,” Pamela Zapata owner of Society 18, an influencer talent agency that represents a number of marginalized influencers, told BeautyMatter. “[They can] find themselves, find their tribe, and band together to improve conditions not only for themselves but for other creators who look like them,” she continued.
Despite being among the most trend-setting, culturally influential, and community-driven voices in the digital space, Black creators often face algorithmic erasure, outrage marketing, online harassment, and systemic underpayment. For the $579 billion global beauty industry, this growing crisis is becoming both a moral failing and a troubling oversight. “Unfortunately, the safety net that once existed on social media has disappeared,” Brandi Sims, founder of multicity PR agency Brandinc PR, told BeautyMatter. “Platforms have dialed back on fact checking, community regulation is inconsistent at best, and outdated legislation like the Communications Decency Act still shields platforms from responsibility,” she added.
The Myth of a Level Playing Field
Platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube have long been positioned as equal-opportunity stages for creativity and commerce. However, beneath the surface lies a complex web of algorithmic bias, content suppression, and performative allyship. In 2020, at the height of the Black Lives Matter protests, brands and platforms pledged to do better. Many launched initiatives aimed at supporting Black creators. And yet, the promised equity has largely failed to materialize. “[These platforms] need to see beauty in diversity at all times. [They need to] realize that people are Black, brown, olive, kinky-haired 365/24-7 and want products and guidance,” Randi Bryant, DEI executive at Bryant Consulting LLC, told BeautyMatter. “They also need to set pay scales. There should be transparency in what companies pay all influencers,” she added.
A 2023 report from MSL’s Influencer Equity Best Practices report revealed that while 73% of white influencers will have landed their first paid engagement within a year, just 46% of BIPOC talent will reach the same milestone. TikTok, in particular, has faced repeated backlash for “shadowbanning” Black creators, limiting the visibility of their posts without notification or clear reason. Though the company denies discriminatory intent, the opacity of algorithmic systems continues to obscure accountability.
The beauty industry owes much of its vibrancy to Black culture. Trends such as edge-laying, bold pigment usage, culturally relevant nails, braided hairstyles, and a skin-first beauty philosophy all originate from Black communities—often before being co-opted and commodified by mainstream (and largely white) influencers. “Comments particularly about features that are ‘Black’ such as larger lips, noses, butts, kinky, curly hair, [and] skin color are rooted in racism,” Bryant said. “Additionally, white creators shouldn’t get rewarded for doing the same things/appropriating things that Black creators have done. Creators almost don’t feel safe sharing their intellectual property and creative ideas because white creators copy and then get brand deals,” she continued.
This cycle of cultural appropriation without credit or compensation is not just anecdotal. According to the “2024 Influencer Pricing Report,” by UK-based talent management firm SevenSix Agency, Black influencers in the country earn 34% less than their white counterparts in 2024. It showed that the pay gap between Black and white influencers has widened since 2022, when it stood at 22%. In luxury beauty, where brand alignment and image are everything, Black creators are often overlooked for high-value partnerships, despite driving engagement and trends.
Unsafe Spaces and Online Abuse
Another layer of the toxicity is overt harassment. Black creators routinely face racist comments, aesthetic policing, and disproportionate scrutiny, especially when promoting their own cultural standards of beauty. Many report feeling the need to “tone down” their content to align with Eurocentric norms, fearing backlash or reduced engagement from the platforms. “This is actually a key focus in my doctoral dissertation: how platform regulation—or the lack of it—shapes user behavior, especially among marginalized groups,” Sims highlighted. “What we’re left with is a perfect storm of unregulated behavior in the name of free speech—and the ones most impacted are Black and marginalized creators.”
Platforms’ lack of content moderation practices further compounds the issue. The enforcement of community guidelines tends to mirror real-world bias. “That’s why we’re seeing the rise of newer platforms like Spill, Mastodon, and Bluesky. These spaces are actively trying to design safety into the user experience,” Sims said.
Creators like Jackie Aina Asamoah, a longtime advocate for diversity in beauty, have spoken candidly about the emotional toll this takes. Newer faces like Golloria George have also faced bullying, forcing her to briefly leave social media. “I’m logging off for a bit! The internet has become an increasingly violent space, particularly for dark-skinned Black women. To exist in the beauty space as a dark-skinned woman is exhausting and unnecessarily violent. Listen to Black women. Tone inclusion is the absolute bare minimum,” she highlighted in her statement.
The Business Cost of Bias
Beyond individual impact, this systemic exclusion carries industry-wide consequences. Black consumers are among the most influential in global beauty markets. According to reports by NielsenIQ, Black consumers spent $8 billion on beauty and black cosmetics—a 10% increase compared to the total market’s 9% growth. Reports also show that despite comprising approximately 12.4% of the US population, Black Americans account for 11.1% of total beauty expenditures. Yet, the pipeline from consumer to creator to boardroom remains broken.
Brands that continue to overlook Black creators in their influencer strategies risk not only reputational harm but also missed revenue. “The only way this can have a true, long-lasting impact is if Black women and men, people of color from different ethnic backgrounds, and differently abled individuals are in their boardrooms, marketing teams, social media teams, director roles etc., essentially embedded within the inner workings of these brands and platforms,” Zapata said. “The makeup of these teams needs to reflect the online narratives they’re trying to portray.”
Sims is in agreement. “Those frameworks should be built with diverse talent at the table because you need people who understand the nuances of racial inequity in influencer marketing. Without those combined efforts, the gap will keep growing quietly behind the scenes—no matter how diverse your campaign looks on the surface,” she said. Authenticity, now a non-negotiable in brand communication, can’t be faked—or worse, appropriated. The current ecosystem, in which Black creators produce culture but reap fewer benefits, is economically unsustainable and ethically indefensible.
Luxury brands in particular have much to lose. Their consumers are increasingly diverse, values-driven, and vocal. Silence or superficial gestures are quickly called out and could be deemed as performative. “To move past performative allyship, brands must be intentional and include the communities they aim to reach,” Sims said. “It’ll save them time, money, and public embarrassment—and more importantly, it’ll build lasting trust.” Bryant chimed in with the importance of communication. “Conversations can be so informative and bonding,” she said. “If diversity is valued in a company, you see it woven throughout everything. ‘Do the foundations come in different shades?’—shades that will work with darker skin, gaining skin, and acne-prone skin."
A Tipping Point for Beauty
For social media to be a truly safe and thriving space for Black beauty creators, multiple systems need to shift. First, platforms must prioritize algorithmic transparency and bias auditing. Without clear insight into how visibility is managed, Black creators will continue to operate at a disadvantage. “Algorithms are trained off of bias, therefore, they perpetuate and amplify many of those biases. Again, this is a situation where the organization’s internal structures need to be diversified to reduce the bias and make it more equitable for Black creators,” said Zapata.
Second, brands must dismantle internal biases that lead to unequal pay and opportunity. This includes diversifying casting, budgeting equitably, and compensating cultural originators, not popularizers. “[Each] partnership needs to align with the brand’s mission and values—and the creator’s. Black beauty creators aren’t here to check the DEI box or make a cameo during Black History Month and Juneteenth. Their audiences are highly engaged and deserve the same respect and intention you’d give any demographic,” said Sims.
The digital age was supposed to democratize influence. And in many ways, it has—but unevenly. For Black beauty creators, visibility often comes with a price, including emotional labor, reduced pay, and stolen credit. As the industry leans ever more heavily on influencer culture to connect with discerning consumers, ignoring these inequities is no longer an option.
