Julian Addo

Founder and CEO

Adwoa Beauty

Julian Addo is a Liberian-Ghanaian American businesswoman with over 30 years of entrepreneurship experience under her belt.
Born in Monrovia, Liberia, West Africa to a Liberian mother and Ghanaian father, Julian immigrated to the United States at the tender age of 2. She grew up in Staten Island, NY with her family.
Entrepreneurship began for Julian at the tender age of 10 when she assisted her mother with her food vending business on the streets of new york city. At the age of 14, Julian enrolled into Ralph R. McKee Technical and Vocational High School to study cosmetology and graduated at 17 with her New York State cosmetology license. Julian was the youngest working professional hairstylist in a salon working after school, beginning at age 14 to 19 years old.
After a move to Minnesota in 2001, at 22 years old, Julian opened her first salon “Creations Plus” in Brooklyn Park. Circumstantially, she detoured into corporate America for the 13 years that followed, simultaneously obtaining a business degree from the University of Minnesota.
While working in corporate America, in 2012 Julian founded Bella Kinks, an event and digital marketing platform servicing global hair care brands and consumers with monthly events, as well digital marketing services and campaigns to connect natural hair influencers with brands. In 2015, the Bella Kinks Expo was born, with attendance of 7k+ Dallas naturalistas and 75+ brands who exhibited their goods and services during the course of the annual trade show. The expo ended in 2018 as Julian chose to dedicate 100% of her time and attention to her new baby, ad
woa beauty®, which she founded in October, 2017.
adwoa beauty is a non toxic, modern, gender neutral beauty brand that caters to multicultural hair textures. The brand has experienced wild growth including 65k+ social media followers. In May of 2020, adwoa beauty embarked on a retail partnership with Sephora USA launching online and in 98 Sephora stores. 9 months later, adwoa beauty grew to launch in Sephora Canada, while extending their US footprint. The brand can now be found in 300+ stores, as part of the Next Big Thing in hair campaign in the US and Canada.
adwoa (ahh-ju-wah) – julian’s traditional name, is designated for females originating from the AKAN day naming system throughout Ghana and the Ivory Coast in West Africa.
“adwoa” means female born on a Monday, the spelling is associated with the Asante tribe, there are various spellings depending on the region/tribe. adwoa beauty honors her father’s culture and merges the intersection of Julian’s identity.