My name is Ann-Sophie Juste, Co-Founder of Pride and Beauty. I am originally from Port-Au-Prince Haiti; Baltimore is where I currently reside. Small business ownership has always been the way of life where I come from. Growing up in Haiti, I remember the people in my neighborhood as well as my family having small shops out front of their homes. Selling handmade\homemade goods is extremely prevalent in my culture. Small business is the way my people make a way when we have no other options or avenues.

Despite leaving my homeland at 8 years old, the principles of the culture stayed with me well into my twenties, now 30 years old. I started making handmade, natural, hair-care products a little over 10 years ago, after being diagnosed with Alopecia Areata. When I was diagnosed, my dermatologist prescribed steroid creams as the method of treatment. When the steroid cream failed to regrow and retain my hair, I was upgraded to steroid injections.

Out of desperation, I complied with my treatments; I would have a steroid shot injected directly into my scalp, once a month for the next year. The injection site would be left inflamed, in pain, and sometimes bleeding. These injections grew too painful, so I stopped the steroid treatments altogether. Sadden and distraught by my hair loss, I began researching natural ingredients to combat hair loss.

During my journey, I came across ayurvedic herbs and began experimenting with different herbal extraction and infusion methods. The first product I created is our herbal-infused hair growth oil. This oil helped reduce my scalp inflammation and the redness that would appear in the balding area(s).

A few years later the Booster Hair Growth Serum, this serum is a concentrated mixture of herbal extracts and vitamins such as Biotin and Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) – This oil was to help regrow the hair that was stuck in the dormant phase. 3rd came the Rice Water and Aloe vera Spray – everyone’s most loved product. This hair spray is an amazing anti-shedding, scalp cooling, and hair repair treatment.

Contains fermented rice water, Aloe vera leaf extract, the perfect leafy tea blend, and much more to help grow and retain your hair. As I watched my own progress, my loved ones started asking me to see if I could make products for their hair needs.

Fast forward to March 2020, for my 28th birthday, my partner encouraged me to start making and selling my products online. We started out on Etsy in 2020 and have since expanded to Amazon Handmade and Walmart MarketPlace.