Camille Rose

Camille Rose is an American hair and body care company founded in 2011 by Janell Stephens [3][6]. The brand specialises in products for textured and curly hair, built around food-grade, plant-derived ingredients, and is sold across major United States retail chains. According to Nielsen, it is the number one Black-owned, woman-owned textured hair care brand in the U.S. market [5].

The company began at home: Stephens, a mother of five working in a non-cosmetics field, started mixing products in her kitchen to treat eczema affecting her children and the hair dryness that came with it. That domestic origin remains central to how Camille Rose tells its story, summed up in the principle that whatever goes on the body should be good enough to go in it.

Janell Stephens, also known as Janell Ennis Stephens, is the founder and chief executive of Camille Rose LLC [3]. By the brand's account, she had no background in formulating and set out to learn after concluding that the products on her favourite retailers' shelves did not meet the standards of clean and natural ingredients she wanted for her family. The US Chamber of Commerce reports that she studied under a herbalist before establishing the company in 2011.

The founding problem was practical. Stephens created early products to address her children's chronic eczema, which also caused severe scalp and hair dryness, choosing natural food-grade ingredients over conventional formulas. She first sold eczema creams through a website, then watched demand grow quickly among customers with similar concerns. Within roughly three years the venture had become, in the company's telling, a multi-million-dollar business.

There is a distinction worth noting in the dates. Camille Rose and editorial coverage consistently place the founding in 2011, the year Stephens began formulating in her kitchen [3][6]. Its products first reached wide retail the following year, in 2012, when they appeared on the shelves of more than 100 Target stores.

The brand's commercial turning point came at a beauty trade show, where a Target buyer discovered Stephens at her booth. By her account, he was drawn to her story and invited her to present to the wider Target buying team, which led to an order placing the products in 100 Target stores [5]. That 2012 order moved Camille Rose from a direct-to-consumer operation into national retail.

From there the company expanded its distribution and product range. The US Chamber of Commerce describes Camille Rose as profitable within about two years and built without external financing [5]. In 2022 the brand launched the Beauté Noir Festival, a three-day summit celebrating Black beauty and culture [3]. Stephens also founded the Janell Ennis Stephens Foundation, which the company says supports women and families in need, particularly single mothers pursuing business ventures.

Camille Rose positions itself as a clean, natural hair and body care brand rooted in a food-inspired approach to formulation. Its guiding line, that whatever goes on the body should be good enough to go in it, runs throughout the company's own materials, alongside the tagline "The Recipe for Beauty." The brand frames its formulas as gourmet blends of food-grade ingredients and describes its mission as sourcing ingredients with integrity and considering the customer's total health and wellness.

The company leans on a community identity, referring to its customers as "Rosettes," and presents itself as a lifestyle brand rather than a purely cosmetic one. It is closely associated with the natural-hair movement and with clean-beauty positioning in the U.S. market.

The brand's range centres on products for textured, curly and coily hair, including cleansers, shampoos, conditioners, hair oils and curl definers, organised into collections such as Rosemary, Black Castor, Coconut Water, Honey, Curl Love and a Kids line. The US Chamber of Commerce reports a portfolio of more than 70 items spanning hair and body care [5]. Stephens has remained directly involved in product development, more recently creating items aimed at protective styles such as braids.

Formulations draw on natural ingredients the brand highlights prominently, among them castor oil, rosemary, coconut, guava, honey, shea butter, aloe vera and ginger root. Frequently cited products include the Curl Love Moisture Milk and the Almond Jai Twisting Butter, the latter described by the company as its most popular item. The brand has also extended into adjacent lines under the Camille Rose FACE and Camille Rose HOME names.

According to Nielsen, Camille Rose ranks as the number one Black-owned, woman-owned textured hair care brand in the United States [5]. The company states it has been featured in outlets including Essence Magazine, The Real, Huffington Post, WWD and the broadcaster KTLA. Its growth from a home kitchen to national retail has been the subject of business-press coverage, including a 2025 feature by the US Chamber of Commerce.

Camille Rose is an active company. As of early 2025, the US Chamber of Commerce reported that its products were sold in approximately 50,000 retail doors, including CVS, Sally Beauty, Target, Ulta Beauty, Walgreens, Walmart and Whole Foods Market, with a growing international presence in South Africa, Europe and Brazil [5]. The brand's own site cites a considerably larger distribution figure of more than 300,000 retail locations [3]. Stephens remained involved in ongoing product development at the time of that reporting.