The Navajo Nation is home to the world’s first Native American-owned luxury cosmetic company. Its founder Ahsaki LaFrance-Chachere is Diné and African American and says she never saw people who looked like her in beauty magazines. She wants to bring Native and Black beauty into mainstream society with cosmetics that represent every skin color. She spoke with KNAU’s Melissa Sevigny about how she’s pioneering what she calls the “no makeup makeup look” and shaking up standards of beauty.
Why don’t you tell me when you first got interested in the whole world of beauty products?
I’m a girl’s girl. Being a girl’s girl, I’ve always been fascinated by beautifying myself, to be honest… Growing up with a lot of aunties, and my mom, who really the one’s who instilled the “no makeup makeup look” in my look and my sisters and I’s look today, just really put all that together. I’m from a family of beautiful Diné women.
Did you find when you were growing up that you had trouble finding the kinds of products that you wanted?
Definitely…. Growing up on the Rez, all I had was just magazines that my mom would buy, Harper Bazaar, Vogue, Ebony, Essence. She bought these magazines for my sisters and I because being Native and Black, to barely see ourselves on the Rez and in these magazines and obviously watching commercials and stuff on TV, I get to see a glimpse of who we are, but never have I ever seen a Native woman on mainstream like that, till now. Our young ones are very, very fortunate to see this now. But yeah, it was really not seeing ourselves. I know the cliche term “representation matters,” it really does, that’s the main thing that made me do this…. That’s really where it started was the skincare side of Ah-Shí Beauty, and then we started to work on the foundation and cosmetic side.
Tell me about the business. When did you start it and what it did it take to get it off the ground?
Well, honestly, I wanted to be a doctor. I was studying physiology and biochem; I was premed at the University of Arizona. When I was there my junior year, my mother got diagnosed with breast cancer… Her skin was changing. That’s what really started—I started to play around at home making my own products…. I guess that’s when the ah-ha moment came in, just being able to—literally, I was in the library, just studying the different properties and just how do I make something that’s going to be safe for my mom. It was really for my mom I was making it for.
Do you have dreams for the future? You have plans for where to take the business next?
Operating on Navajo is obviously hard. I would love to hopefully one day see it be a lot more business-friendly for Native people…. But the ultimate goal is to be this timeless iconic beauty brand, like Chanel, Dior, and all these makeup brands the world knows.
What advice would you give to young Diné woman or young Black women who are going through hard times today and looking for their path—do you have advice you’d like to share with them?
Do not try to compare yourself, do not try to compete with others. Even though yes, this industry—whatever industry you’re in, it’s very competitive, but always be true to yourself and stay focused. There was a reason you were given this vision, this dream, this goal, from the Creator, and all you’ve got to do is protect that and work very hard to achieve it. And know that everything you’re doing is building purpose. Because what you’re building now is a stepping stone for the next generations to come. Always keep in mind that what you do today is going to affect tomorrow.
Thank you so much for sharing your story with me, it’s a really beautiful journey.
No problem at all, thank you for allowing me to share my story.
