How Taraji P. Henson Took Full Ownership of Her Beauty Brand  

Actress Taraji P. Henson isn’t the kind of celebrity who just slaps her name on a product line and cashes a check. With every product in her beauty line TPH by Taraji, she asks herself, “Is this something I would purchase if I was not involved?”  

In 2020, she launched TPH by Taraji in collaboration with Maesa, a beauty incubator that also backed Drew Barrymore’s Flower Beauty.  

TPH by Taraji later expanded to body care, but along the way, Henson became “frustrated” with the direction of the company. In April, she paid Maesa an undisclosed sum for full ownership, making her part of a growing cohort of female founders who bought back their companies.  

“It feels amazing because I don’t have anything in the way of my vision and my creativity,” she told Inc. Editorial Director Bonny Ghosh at the Inc. 5000 conference in Phoenix on Thursday. 

That doesn’t mean getting back her company was easy. She brought in new business managers who helped her negotiate the purchase. “I prayed a lot,” she added. “God was sick of hearing from me. It’s like, ‘I have the whole world to tend to. I can’t just keep listening to you, Taraji.’” 

Henson’s journey to founding a haircare line began when she realized that caring for her scalp could help her mend her own damaged hair. She created treatments for herself, and when friends loved them, she realized there might be a bigger need for both the products and for better consumer education about scalp care. “If it was missing for me, then I knew there were other women out there that needed it,” she said. “I would go to the mall, and I would be like, I know her scalp is not clean.” 

She still helps develop TPH products, and right now she’s focused on creating new formulas and scents for a planned 2027 relaunch. “I have a salon in my house, and that’s where I’m like a little scientist,” she said.

“I’m building the minimal viable product there. I have the doll heads that they have in cosmetology school with the different kinds of hair. 

“I would have been a cosmetologist if this acting thing didn’t take off,” joked Henson, who, of course, has had an extremely successful acting career, with starring roles in in Empire, Hidden Figures, and What Men Want. 

Walmart, she said, added a scalp care section to its aisles in response to the popularity of TPH. And her products are so beloved among fans that when they’re sold out, customers will sometimes trade among themselves, rather than buying from another line. “That lets me know I have a community that I have to cater to,” Henson said.  

“My scalp care was a game changer,” she said. “I know what I have. It’s just taking back control of the narrative.”