"I Went Years Without Using Pomade—Then I Created the One I Always Needed"
From childhood barbershop trips to building a men’s hair care brand—Carlos Barksdale opens up about family, legacy, and the journey to Glory.
Carlos and I linked up for a candid conversation about Glory By Us, his rising men’s hair care brand that uses all-natural ingredients. As we predicted at the top of the year, men’s grooming products will continue to gain momentum in 2025, and Carlos is tapping into that shift.
We met up on an early Saturday afternoon in Brooklyn, NY. Inside Carlos’ apartment, the vibe was intentional. Minimal yet artsy, his space was balanced curation and ease—a towering green plant stood at its center, while hints of various shades of green appeared in quiet, deliberate touches. The air carried the smoky warmth of palo santo, and against one wall, a pair of worn sneakers hung like art, a quiet contrast to the otherwise clean, refined space. Exposed brick on one side, stark white on the other. And then, there was the music. Hip-hop and R&B played quietly through the speakers. This is Carlos…
A: Is this your go-to type of music?
C: Hmm… I don’t know if I have a type of music. I just like what I like.
A: You have a favorite genre?
C: Probably rap and hip-hop… but the vibe-y kind.
A: Trap Soul and things like that?
C: Yeah, for sure. I like melodic songs, stuff that puts me in a good mood without making me think too much.
A: Any specific artists you keep in rotation?
C: Hmm, well, I have some local favorites, like my homegirl King Courtnie. She makes music. She doesn’t even know it, but I listen to her songs a lot.
A: Okay, love that. Supporting the up-and-comers.
C: Always.
A: Just curious, if you could pick a boy band from back in the day to join, which one would it be?
C: laughs Oh okay. Gotta go with Boyz II Men. They got classics. “Let It Snow” alone…
A: For some reason, I had a feeling were going to say that.
A: Alright, let’s get into it. Who is Carlos Barksdale?
C: I’m the guy who gets the job done. That’s something I take pride in—being dependable, trustworthy, and a man of my word. That’s big to me.
A: Would your friends describe you the same way?
C: I think so. They’d say I’m authentic, loyal, and probably a bit of a wild card. But they know if they call on me, I’ll show up.
A: Wild card how?
C: laughs I don’t always agree, but people think I’m brutally honest. I just say what I feel. If we’re all vibing and one person is killing the mood, I’ll be the one to say it.
A: You would call them out?!
C: Oh yeah. I’d be like, “Bro, the vibe was great… but without you.” But I’ve been going to therapy and church, so I’ve learned how to say things in a more structured way. But trust me, it’s still gonna be said.
A: When’s your birthday?
C: June 7th.
A: Nice. That’s a good month.
(What happens next is a highly necessary, completely irrational debate about whether June or October is the superior month. You know… the kind of zodiac-fueled discourse we all cling to for no reason. The right answer? Obviously mine, Amarissa says.)
A: Let’s talk about your childhood. Where did you grow up?
C: Memphis, Tennessee.
A: Southern guy, huh? I don’t think I got that vibe from you.
C: Southern through & through. I’ve been in New York for 14 years though, so maybe that’s why.
A: Makes sense. So you grew up in Memphis, how would you describe your family back there?
C: Man, funny, full of characters, tight-knit. We joke around a lot, we talk every day, and our family group chat never stops buzzing. Like today—right now—they’re throwing a surprise party for my granddad in Memphis. I’m supposed to Zoom in later. We do things like that.
A: That’s sweet.
C: Yeah. My family is great. My grandma was the focal point of the family. She never held back her comments—she’d tell you if you gained weight, lost weight, or if your boyfriend was ugly.
A: And you love that about her, don’t you?
C: Of course. She grew up in Mississippi—one of 16 kids—on some real Southern movie type stuff. She carried that unfiltered, no-nonsense energy into everything.
A: Sounds like a force.
C: She was. She passed away last June. She was 79. It still feels surreal. She was such a presence.
A: I’m sorry to hear that. How does your family keep her memory alive?
C: We share stories about her every day. My mom posts about her on social media constantly.
A: It’s special to be that close with a grandparent.
C: Yeah, she raised me after school every day, so we had a bond. Grandparents see you in ways others don’t.
A: Did you mention if you have any siblings?
C: Yeah, I got two sisters and one brother. Little brother is 16. Little sister is 28. And my oldest sister is 39.
A: You infuse family into Glory a lot. How do the two connect?
C: That’s where it all started. My mom took me to the barbershop every Friday. Every single week, Mr. Gooden cut my hair. That’s two hours a week, every week, for years. Then there’s my grandma. She had a rule: you don’t leave the house looking a mess. Clothes ironed, skin lotioned, hair brushed, durag on. Grooming wasn’t optional—it was standard.
A: That must have really shape who you are today.
C: Yeah. When I left for college, I realized how much those Southern values stayed with me. That’s what shines through in Glory.
A: What role does storytelling play in Glory when connecting with your audience?
C: Storytelling is the brand. The best brands tell a story. Look at Ralph Lauren—I’ve been buying Ralph since I was 12. They sell a whole world. It’s aspirational but doesn’t feel cheesy. It doesn’t feel super whitewashed either.
A: That’s exactly why Ralph is the brand. Anyone can see themselves in it.
C: For Glory, storytelling had to be at the core. I love Memphis. I love my family. Most people don’t get to share their family with the world, but I can through my brand. When a family member passes, funerals never feel like enough—I want our stories to live beyond us. I use Glory to share my people with the world, to make sure our stories aren’t forgotten.
C: Your brand should be something people can emotionally connect to. You may not have grown up in Memphis, worn Dickies, or gone to the barbershop every Friday, but you may understand having a mom who took you for self-care, a little brother you wanted to bond with, or a grandma with unshakable values. My story is just framed within Memphis—but the feeling is universal.
A: Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe I read that you’ve dealt with hair loss before? Can you talk about the hair changes you were going through?
C: Well, my hair was just changing so much since I had graduated from high school and college. I definitely didn’t expect that. My texture changed a lot between ages 21 and 25. It looked grayish, less full, less shiny. Nobody told me that might happen.
A: How did you deal with all of the change and figure out what would work?
C: This Shea Moisture guy came to a college panel and talked about conditioning. I’d never done that. Once I started conditioning more and shampooing less, I saw growth.
A: Glory uses natural ingredients which is amazing. How does health & wellness show up in your everyday life? Would you call yourself a health nut?
C: Listen, I have very consistent health practices. I try to eat clean—I just did a raw vegan cleanse for January. Mornings are all about fruit, I get my vegetables in, and I limit dairy and meat. I also work out five to six times a week—yoga, basketball, the whole thing.
A: Drop a wellness tip for us.
C: Find a wellness practice you actually enjoy—and be ruthlessly consistent with it.
A: Duly noted.
A: Before Glory, where were you in life?
C: I was running a company called Luya, which was a marketplace for healthy Black-owned hair & body brands.
A: So you’re a second-time entrepreneur. Why a marketplace?
C: When I started reading ingredient labels, I realized most products were packed with chemicals—some even linked to hair loss and cancer. That’s when I knew I had to create something better. I became passionate about Black people using healthier beauty products. I wanted to bring more awareness to what we’re putting on our bodies.
A: Glory is all about clean, natural ingredients, right? Which natural products fascinate you the most?
C: Shea butter still fascinates me—how it works for both skin and hair. Same with coconut oil, castor oil, moringa oil, and avocado oil. Growing up in Memphis, we relied on Ultra Sheen, Blue Magic, and Pink Oil Moisturizer. But when I started looking for healthy Black-owned brands made specifically for me, I realized how few there were.
A: When building Glory, how did you conduct research? I imagine information on men’s grooming is pretty scarce.
C: It was tough. My background is in startups, venture capital, and entrepreneurship, so I was taught to find data on your target market, understand their needs, and build from there. But when it came to Black men’s grooming, that data didn’t exist. Instead, I turned to Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook—where entire communities of Black men were already discussing hair care, swapping product recommendations, and giving advice. I found Facebook groups with 10,000+ members just talking about hair. So while traditional research didn’t exist, the real conversations were happening online. I tapped into that, and I also conducted surveys to fill in the gaps.
A: You use pretty unique combinations of ingredients in your products. What do you currently have on the market?
C: We have a shampoo bar infused with artichoke and sweet potato extract.
A: Oh?
C: Yeah, definitely unique ingredients. Then there’s our conditioner, which has a lot of great stuff, but the standout is peppermint. You’ll feel it tingle on your scalp, which helps stimulate blood circulation and encourages hair growth. And we also have our pomade paste.
A: Sweet potato and artichoke in a shampoo bar? What made you choose those?
C: During my research, I looked into natural ingredients that support hair growth and retention. Sweet potato and artichoke kept coming up. Plus, sweet potato reminds me of home—Memphis and my grandma. She used to bake them all the time, so the scent ties me to her.
A: Is that your favorite product?
C: I love them all, but the pomade means the most to me. It’s what gave me the confidence to start the brand. I went four or five years without using a pomade because I couldn’t find one that worked. Nothing gave me the hold, shine, and washability I wanted. When I finally formulated this one, it was light, soft, smelled great, all-natural, and gave great shine and hold. I knew it was a gold mine!
A: Did you create the formulas yourself?
C: In a way. I worked with one of the vendors from Luya. We got tight, and he helped me formulate those initial products.
A: You make your products by hand right?
C: Yeah, I do.
A: How’s that experience?
C: Honestly, it’s not too difficult—it’s just a different level of connection. Making them myself gives me a real intimacy with the products. I design them, bottle them, sell them, and people actually pay for them and love them. That’s surreal.
A: I can imagine that’s fulfilling. Where’s your lab?
C: Right here. The kitchen. I keep it sterile, wipe everything down, mask on, durag on.
A: So, green… Why was that the main color you chose for Glory? The shade you use isn’t typical—it really stands out.
C: Yeah, it just felt right. It’s not too light, not too dark. Green has always been my color.
A: It’s looks rich. Luxurious. Feels like something you’d see on a high-end mood board. How did you land on that exact shade?
C: I worked with my friend Fatima, who runs a design firm in LA. Back in 2020, during the pandemic, I told myself, I need to get this brand off the ground. I need a visual identity. I sent her my inspiration—logos, color palettes, and the overall vibe. She came back with options, and what you see today was one of the first iterations. I just knew. That was the brand.
A: When you know, you know.
C: Exactly. I wanted Glory to be designed so well that even if you didn’t know what it was, you’d want it around. You’d want to buy it because it looks good. I have my own products sitting on my desk right now—just because I like how they look.
A: And they match your green lamp.
C: Didn’t even notice that until now. Thanks for pointing that out. But yeah, I want Glory to be a brand that sits on top of the shelf, not under your counter.
A: The products on your desk—are those your favorites?
C: Right now, I’ve got a couple pomade jars, durag boxes, and my brush—with the green bristles popping out.
A: I can see you’ve infused your brand into your space seamlessly. Nothing looks forced—everything just flows. I like it.
C: Glory is a part of your everyday.
A: So, your Cucumber Moisturizer is coming. Why cucumber?
C: You know, I love experimenting with unique ingredients. I’ll get these random ideas and think, can this go into a product? Cucumber is something I eat all the time, and it’s super hydrating—which is exactly what hair needs. So I thought, why not? That’s how we got here. Experimentation is the fun part.
A: And your Kickstarter campaign—tell us about that.
C: I’m raising funds for the Cucumber Moisturizer and it’s live until March 13th. You can find the link on glorybyus.com or on our socials.
A: Why Kickstarter?
C: I think it's a good platform to not only launch a new product, but also bring more awareness to the brand and what we stand for. My goal is for Glory to be a home for all Black men’s hair—no matter the style. This is the next step in that journey. With Kickstarter, I can pre-sell the product, raise capital, and introduce more people to the brand—all in one place. It’s also a great marketing tool because it drives people to a central hub where they can fully understand what we’re about.
C: This campaign has also given me a bigger platform to put Black men at the center of the conversation in beauty and grooming. It’s been keeping me busy, active, and focused. But honestly? It’s been refreshing. I get to refine my vision, talk about the brand, and put it all on display.
A: Tell me about Glory Days—is that a basketball tournament you created?
C: Yeah, it’s a basketball event where people can come together, play, and just have a good time.
A: How did that idea come about?
C: When I was thinking about a launch event for Glory, I didn’t want to just throw another party. A lot of brands do that, and I wanted something that felt memorable, experiential. Something that actually reflected our values, our energy, and what we represent beyond the products. Since basketball is a huge part of my life, it made sense. Just like family shaped me, so did the game.
A: So when people think of Glory, they’re thinking of more than just hair—they’re thinking of basketball, community, and a good time.
C: Exactly. And honestly, I see a connection between hair care and being an athlete. Both require commitment, consistency, and dedication—which are core values of Glory. If you’re serious about taking care of your hair, you’re dedicated to a process, disciplined about the routine, and always working toward the best version of yourself, like an athlete.
A: And are those are the same qualities you’re instilling in people through the brand? Or at least the type of people you’re attracting?
C: For sure. So for one day a year, Glory is a basketball tournament—a day to bring people together, celebrate health, consistency, and community.
Carlos Barksdale’s Morning Hair Routine with Glory, Scalp Care Advice, and Essential Tips for Men New to Hair Care. Watch here.
➡️ GloryByUs.com | Kickstarter campaign
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