For 12 years, Niambi lived in Europe researching the African Diaspora in the Middle East and working with cultural outreach programs for the Africa Centre and UNESCO. This meant that she traveled. A lot! So, she needed to create a skincare regimen that was easy, effective, and affordable. When she couldn’t find products suited to her combination skin, she would go to the local apothecary, load up her shopping basket with butters, oils, plant waters, and clays to whip up simple skin remedies like she used to make back in Kentucky.

One of her favorite travel rituals was to visit the local artisan markets. No matter where she traveled – Iran, Turkey, Morocco, India, or across Europe – she always found Africans and African-descent artisans and herbalists selling personal goods that reminded her of the beauty recipes she learned from her Nana.

As an academic turned beauty activist, Niambi infuses Pholk with her love and knowledge of the African Diaspora’s healing and herbalist traditions. Her calling is to welcome women of color into the natural skincare space by thinking about both lifestyle and skin needs, and crafting a brand narrative that celebrates women of color as innovators of culture.