…I would love to inspire a movement of loving your skin. Throughout my career, I noticed one of my biggest questions is how I get my skin even, or how to brighten/lighten skin, how to make lips more pink, and so many more skin questions regarding deeper skin tones. It truly makes me sad to see so many women not be happy with their skin color and wanting to change their skin tones permanently. On the contrary, I’ve also heard from so many women how I’ve taught them and inspired them to love their skin and embrace their beautiful rich skin tones and that truly makes me heart so happy. If I were to ever create a movement, it would be around this…
We had the pleasure of talking with Aysha Harun. Aysha is a beauty and lifestyle creator who has gained prominence for her unique approach to content, focusing on skincare, modest fashion, and the celebration of her cultural and religious roots. Originally from Toronto and now based in Los Angeles, Harun has cultivated a dedicated following by speaking to an underrepresented audience of Black Muslim women, promoting body positivity, diversity, and self-care. With over 1.5 million followers across social media platforms, she has become a significant voice in the beauty and fashion space.
Harun’s work blends beauty with culture, often integrating her Ethiopian heritage into her content. A recent example of this fusion was her collaboration with Ami Colé, a Black-owned beauty brand. The partnership resulted in the launch of “Happy,” a peachy nude lip oil designed for darker skin tones. The product’s name ties into her slogan and merchandise line, “Happy Looks Good on You,” with the accompanying campaign titled “The Journey to Happy.” Harun played a hands-on role throughout the development process, including selecting product samples and influencing the packaging, which reflects traditional Harari patterns. This collaboration with Ami Colé, available on Sephora’s website, marks Harun’s first foray into product development and highlights her commitment to representation in the beauty industry.
Harun’s influence extends beyond beauty products. During Ramadan, she partnered with Modern Eid, a Muslim-owned brand, to launch a small collection of holiday décor that encourages Muslim families to celebrate their traditions in festive ways, similar to how other religions mark their holidays. In addition to her creative endeavors, Harun is deeply engaged in philanthropy. Over the years, she has raised more than $100,000 for humanitarian efforts in Yemen, Palestine, Syria, and Ethiopia. Her charitable initiatives include providing food packages to families breaking their fasts during Ramadan, funding water wells, and working closely with organizations such as Islamic Relief USA and UNRWA.
Harun’s career began in 2011, when she posted her first YouTube video at the age of 16, inspired by her passion for beauty content. As one of the first Black Muslim women to gain visibility on the platform, she quickly built a loyal community of followers who identified with her experiences and message. By 2017, upon graduating from university, Harun had amassed 100,000 subscribers on YouTube. Encouraged by her success, she decided to pursue content creation full-time, securing her first significant brand partnership with Bobbi Brown that same year. Since then, she has collaborated with major beauty brands such as Lancome, Philosophy, and First Aid Beauty.
Throughout her career, Harun has remained committed to building an inclusive and engaged community. She emphasizes the importance of authenticity, regularly engaging with her audience through direct messages and comments, and tailoring content based on their feedback. “It’s not just about having followers; it’s about building a community,” Harun explains. “Replying to comments and genuinely connecting with people is what creates that sense of belonging.”
Harun’s rise to prominence is rooted in both professional opportunities and personal support. She credits her experience as a marketing intern at Kin Community Canada in 2016 with shaping her understanding of the creator economy. The internship gave her insight into how influencers develop sustainable careers, a turning point that motivated her to pursue content creation full-time. Harun also acknowledges the vital role her cousin Sara played during the early years of her career. “When I was trying to break into the industry, Sara quit her job to be my assistant,” Harun recalls. “She helped with everything — from shooting videos to managing brand deals. I truly don’t think I’d be where I am today without her.”
As a content creator, Harun has also learned valuable lessons along the way. She recalls an early mistake when she accidentally posted a vlog with her home address visible. “A follower pointed it out, and it was a wake-up call about privacy,” she says. “I’ve been extremely careful about what I share online ever since.”
While Harun’s career has brought her significant success, she remains focused on the deeper purpose behind her work. “Understand your ‘why,’” she advises aspiring influencers. “If you know why you’re creating content, it will drive you even when things feel slow or overwhelming.” For Harun, that purpose is clear: to carve out space for Black Muslim women in the beauty industry and encourage others to embrace their unique identities.
Looking ahead, Harun hopes to inspire a broader movement around self-acceptance, particularly among women with darker skin tones. “Throughout my career, I’ve received countless questions about how to lighten or brighten skin, and it’s heartbreaking,” she reflects. “I want to promote loving your skin as it is. My goal is to inspire women to celebrate their natural beauty rather than changing it.”
Beyond her professional work, Harun emphasizes the importance of self-care to maintain her mental well-being in a demanding industry. She practices daily prayer to stay grounded and incorporates skincare routines as a form of self-care. “It’s not just about products,” she explains. “It’s a moment to reconnect with myself.” Harun also prioritizes phone-free time in the evenings and enjoys spending weekends with her family and friends, ensuring she can recharge away from the constant demands of social media. Through her creative endeavors, philanthropy, and advocacy for inclusivity, Aysha Harun continues to make a lasting impact, redefining beauty and lifestyle content for a new generation.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory of how you came upon this career path to where you are today?
I began my social media journey over a decade ago in 2011. I was only 16 years old and looking for a summer hobby when I picked up my father’s old camcorder and decided to record a YouTube video. I was an avid watcher of beauty YouTube videos and that’s what inspired me to start my own channel. Over the years through posting fashion ootd’s and beauty tutorials, I started gaining a strong community of women who resonated with me. Being one of the very first Black Muslim Women on YouTube sharing beauty and fashion tips, I was able to fill a void in the beauty space and speak to a very underrepresented community of women who looked like me. By the time I graduated university in 2017, I had garnered 100K subscribers on YouTube and decided to take my passion project full-time and turn it into a career. That summer I graduated, I landed my very first 4 figure brand deal with Bobbi Brown cosmetics and took it as a sign that I was on the right path. It’s been over seven amazing years since then and I’ve since been able to grow my following to over 1.5 million across all my platforms and truly carve out a space for Black Muslim women in the beauty, fashion, and lifestyle influencer space while also partnering with top brands in each category.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I’ve had so many amazing mentors and opportunities that have helped me get to where I am today. One of the biggest driving factors was my internship with Kin Community Canada in 2016. I worked as a Marketing Intern at this YouTube MCN and it taught me so much about the creator industry and gave me insights I’d never would have been able to know had I not had that experience. I was able to see first-hand how creators turn their passions into successful careers and businesses and after leaving that internship it was the first time so had ever considered going full-time with YouTube. Everyone I worked with there has been an integral part of my career and I’m forever thankful for that experience.
Along with that, I couldn’t have built out my career in the beginning without my cousin Sara. In 2017–2019 when I was really trying to break into the industry, elevate my content, and land bigger brand deals, she quit her job to be my assistant and help me make my dreams come true. She helped shoot all my photos and fashion videos, edit some of my content, helped with my brand deals, and so much more. I truly don’t think I would have been able to do everything without her and it’s even more special that she is like a sister to me. People often overlook how much work goes into being a successful content creator and often times that needs to come with help. So having Sara really saved me and helped me reach my goals.
It has been said that sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story with us about the most humorous mistake you made when you were first starting? What lesson or take-away did you learn from that?
The great thing about starting so early is that a lot of my mistakes happened before I gained a larger following and I was able to organically figure this all out before it really mattered. Learning about privacy and boundaries as a teen/young adult sharing my life on the internet was huge. I remember accidentally sharing a vlog on YouTube that had my full address in it, and I didn’t realize until it was already posted and a following brought it up. That quickly taught me to be more aware of what details I share in my content to maintain my safety and privacy I definitely have never made that mistake again!
As an influencer, you have been blessed with great success in a career path that many have attempted, but eventually gave up on. In fact, perhaps most people who tried to follow a career path like yours did not succeed. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path but know that their dreams might be dashed?
Understand your “why”. That is my first piece of advice. Why do you want to be a content creator? Why do you feel like what you have to say and share is important? Once you have your “why”, that will be the driving force in your career path and something to always remind yourself of regardless of if you’re growing your following and gaining success or not. My “why” has always been that I genuinely love creating and sharing content. I love being able to share my love for beauty, fashion, travel etc., with a community and taking space as a black Muslim women in the industry.
Additionally, consistency is key. I know we hear this everywhere, but it couldn’t be more true here. If you consistently decide to post content no matter who or how many people are seeing it, then you are a content creator. No one has achieved success without consistency. And this is true in any career path. Show up every single day with the drive to create and eventually the community will follow.
Can you share with our readers some of the strategies you’ve used to build an engaged, loyal, and large online community?
One of the main strategies I implemented to build an engaged loyal audience is to actually *engage* with them. Reply to comments, chat with your following in the DMs, answer their requests in your content. This will not only build an engaged audience, but a community of people who feel like they are part of something with you. I always see the creator’s comments filled with so much love, and no replies back from the creator. There’s no way someone will feel connected to you if you’re not actually connecting with them. Never overlook this part of being a content creator because it is arguably one of the most important parts of being a social media influencer.
Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of our interview. In my work, I focus on how one can thrive and care for oneself in three areas: body, mind, and heart. You are a busy person with a demanding schedule, can you share with our readers two self-care routines, practices or treatments that help your body thrive? (Kindly share a story or an example for each.)
I used to throw everything into my work and neglect myself and this led to extreme burnout. My self-care routine is so important to me now and my life always feels thrown off if I don’t implement it.
1. Have some designated down-time. I understand that as creators sometimes it feels like we need to work round the clock, but deciding to put down the phone at a certain time every day is so important. For me that’s around 7pm. I don’t even know where my phone is after that time. I also try my best to have relaxing weekends and keep social media to a minimum those days and just post what I need to so I can enjoy time with my husband, friends and family.
3. A sacred skin care routine. My morning and night skincare routine is something I never miss. It’s a time for me to reconnect with myself and have a moment to just pamper myself. It’s not too long, maybe 5 minutes, but I just lock the door and really enjoy that time to take care of my skin. I take pride in my skin and as I literally depend on it for my career, this is a non-negotiable for me no matter how late or how early it is.
Can you share with us two routines that you use to help your mind or heart to thrive? (Kindly share a story or example for each.)
I mentioned this already, but my daily walks really help my mind thrive. I usually try to do them with my husband, and it just brings so much joy to me each day even if we don’t say a single word to each other while walking. Just being in the sun and nature and getting some light activity in before, during, or after our busy days is something I look forward to.
Another routine is my daily prayers. As a woman of faith, prayer is so important and an integral part of life and truly helps me reconnect to a higher power. It helps me decompress and relax 5 times a day and keeps me grounded in an industry such as this.
Can you help articulate why self-care is so important for your mental wellness?
As a social media creator and influencer, we are constantly “ON” and being critiqued and watched all the time. So, self-care is truly the only thing that helps me stay sane and take care of my mental. The designated no-phone times are critical because it’s so easy to be warped up into my phone 24/7. But taking the time to nourish my mind, body and soul is so important to me.
Can you share three ideas that anyone can use “to feel beautiful”? (Please share a story or example for each.)
1. Morning affirmations. Every morning while washing your face, brushing your teeth, or putting on skincare, look at your reflection and remind yourself how beautiful you are. Point out features that you absolutely love today and see the beauty in you before starting your day.
2. Find a skincare routine that works for you. It can be as simple as moisturizer and sunscreen, but just something to pour back into yourself. Starting your day with a mini pampering sesh always helps me feel beautiful and I’m sure it does for others as well.
3. Do not speak negative thoughts to yourself. I strongly dislike when others say things like “I’m so fat” or “I look ugly today” etc. I think words are so powerful and can truly affect a personals self-esteem and self-worth. So, speaking positively about yourself will always help you feel beautiful.
Is there a particular resource, a practitioner, expert, book, or podcast that made a significant impact on you and helped you to thrive? Can you share a story about that with us?
I have a few favorite podcasts I listen to weekly that have great advice on health, wellness and career advice. One of them is the Life with Marianna podcast. I love her perspective on career growth and her business mindset and I’m always learning something new when I listen to her podcast. It’s a great listen on my daily walks or when I have a long drive, and it fills my mind with career inspiration instead of just listening to music or gossip podcasts.
I also love the Wellness Her Way podcast with Gracie Norton as it’s a breath of fresh air in terms of wellness podcasts. It’s super relatable and I’ve used so many of her tips to implement into my own wellness routine. It really has helped me thrive and take charge of my health and wellness.
As an influencer, you are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I would love to inspire a movement of loving your skin. Throughout my career, I noticed one of my biggest questions is how I get my skin even, or how to brighten/lighten skin, how to make lips more pink, and so many more skin questions regarding deeper skin tones. It truly makes me sad to see so many women not be happy with their skin color and wanting to change their skin tones permanently. On the contrary, I’ve also heard from so many women how I’ve taught them and inspired them to love their skin and embrace their beautiful rich skin tones and that truly makes me heart so happy. If I were to ever create a movement, it would be around this.
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world with whom you’d like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this. 🙂
I would absolutely love to have a private lunch with Emma Grede. I’ve listened to so many podcasts with her and I’m always so amazed at how she’s built her career and became one of the most successful businesswomen at such a young age. The fact that she is also a Black woman is so special because opportunities are so much harder for us to land. I’d love to hear about her entire story and what steps she took to get to where she is today in full detail and how I could implement her strategies to my own career.
What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?
You can reach me on YouTube and Instagram at @ayshaharun and on TikTok at @aysha_harun.
Thank you for these amazing insights!
Thank you so much!!
Influencer Aysha Harun Shares Her Top Self Care, Wellness, and Beauty Tips was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.