Friends in Beauty Podcast

About Friends in Beauty Podcast

Welcome to Friends in Beauty – the #1 community & podcast for beauty pros! Hosted by Award-Winning Makeup Artist & Beauty Educator, and Your Best Friend in Beauty Akua Robinson, this is where beauty conversations feel like catching up with a friend — real stories and expert tea with the voices that shape the beauty industry without the fluff...Whether you're a makeup artist, hairstylist, esthetician, nail tech, or educator—Friends in Beauty is your go-to for insight, strategy & support. New episodes every Wednesday! Let’s Connect! Follow us on social media: @friendsinbeauty @akuarobinson

Publisher

Akua Robinson

Category

arts

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

6 May 2020

Latest episode

4 Mar 2026

Latest episodes

89 of 314 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   4 Mar 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Ep. 312: I’m Burnt Out… and I Need to Take a Break

   Akua Robinson shares her personal experience with burnout and the importance of taking a break to recharge creativity and sustainability in this interview.

2. 

   25 Feb 2026TRANSCRIPT

   Ep. 311: Building a Clean Haircare Brand for the Loc Community with Laverne Amara

   In this episode of the Friends in Beauty Podcast, I’m so excited to sit down with Laverne Amara, founder of NVLX Labs, an eco-lux clean haircare brand created specifically for the loc community. Laverne is a certified loctician and trichology analyst whose work focuses on scalp health, buildup prevention, and education in the natural hair space. In our conversation, she shares how her journey evolved from providing services behind the chair to launching her own product line, and what it really takes to bring a beauty brand to life from scratch. We talk about the realities of product formulation, why her shampoo took about a year to perfect, and the science behind creating formulas specifically for locs versus loose natural hair. Laverne also opens up about entrepreneurship later in life, balancing multiple identities, and why slow, sustainable growth matters more than chasing viral moments. She also shares her experience serving in the military for over two decades, how hair regulations have evolved over the years, and why representation, inclusion, and education are so important in both beauty and professional spaces. If you’re building a brand, thinking about launching products, or simply want real insight into what it takes to grow something meaningful from the ground up, this episode is for you. 💡 Key Takeaways Why loc haircare requires different formulations than traditional products How long it realistically take to develop a beauty product from scratch Why slow growth can be more sustainable than viral success The importance of scalp health in loc maintenance How volunteering, networking, and relationships open doors in business Why starting a business later in life can be an advantage 🌐 Connect with Laverne Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nvlxlabs/ (https://www.instagram.com/nvlxlabs/) Website: https://nvlxlabs.com/ (https://nvlxlabs.com/) Leave us a 5 star review and share this episode with a friend or 2 or 3. info@friendsinbeauty.com (mailto:info@friendsinbeauty.com) GET A PEEK INSIDE OF BEAUTYPRO FUNNELS HERE https://www.getbeautyprofunnels.com/friends (https://www.getbeautyprofunnels.com/friends) SHOP MENTED COSMETICS: https://www.mentedcosmetics.com/akua-robinson (https://www.mentedcosmetics.com/akua-robinson) 🤎USE CODE "670FED67397" for 15% off of your first purchase. 🚀 FREE GUIDE → 13 WAYS TO GROW YOUR CLIENTELE https://friendsinbeauty.com/grow-your-clientele-7590 (https://friendsinbeauty.com/grow-your-clientele-7590) JOIN US INSIDE OF THE TRAILBLAZERS CLUB https://bit.ly/FIBTrailblazersClubb (https://bit.ly/FIBTrailblazersClubb) GET BOOKKEEPING & ACCOUNTING SERVICES - Tell Them Friends in Beauty Sent You https://kickstartaccountinginc.com (https://kickstartaccountinginc.com) LEARN HOW TO RECORD + EDIT A PODCAST IN 7 DAYS OR LESS:  https://bit.ly/DIYPodcasterCourse (http://bit.ly/DIYPodcasterCourse) FRIENDS IN BEAUTY FACEBOOK COMMUNITY https://www.facebook.com/groups/friendsinbeauty (http://www.facebook.com/groups/friendsinbeauty) MUST HAVE BEAUTY, PODCASTING, CONTENT CREATION TOOLS, AND BOOKS https://www.amazon.com/shop/akuarobinson (https://www.amazon.com/shop/akuarobinson) Social Media Info: Friends in Beauty (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter) - @friendsinbeauty (http://www.instagram.com/friendsinbeauty) Friends in Beauty (YouTube) - Friends in Beauty (http://bit.ly/FIBTube) Akua Robinson (Instagram,Twitter) - @akuarobinson (http://www.instagram.com/akuarobinson) AkuaRobinson (Facebook) - Akua Robinson MUA (http://www.facebook.com/AkuaRobinsonMUA) Akua Robinson (Website) - www.akuarobinson.com (http://www.akuarobinson.com) NOTE: I am a Brand Ambassador and affiliate for certain businesses, products and services that I believe in. I may have referenced these and included links in this video, description or someplace else at this site. I hope you find the resources helpful. Copyright, Liability Waiver and Disclaimers. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act, and/or without the prior express written permission of Friends in Beauty, LLC, Akua Robinson Artistry, LLC and/or Akua Robinson.

3. 

   18 Feb 2026

   Ep. 310 - Reality Check: Behind the Scenes of America's Next Top Model

   Host Akua Robinson reflects on the Reality Check documentary, examining the impact of America's Next Top Model on beauty standards and the evolution of the beauty industry since the early 2000s.

Who has been a guest on Friends in Beauty Podcast

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Kim Baker
• Lindsay Nahmiache
• Tomara Watkins
• Emily Prince
• Dimitra Davidson

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

108,490

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

45 ratings

Spotify

4.3 / 5

6 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 79 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

71

Social presence

97

YouTube

86

Engagement

82