When Liz Letsoalo started Masodi Organics in August 2018, she was stepping into a beauty industry at a crossroads. At the time, black women across South Africa were raising their voices, demanding premium products with rich, thoughtful ingredients and imagery that uplifted them. The shelves in retail stores told a different story, dominated by products that pushed relaxers and sidelined natural black hair.
“Back then, it felt like black beauty was invisible, almost an afterthought,” Liz recalls. “Women were mistrusting beauty brands, and rightfully so. When you looked at the ingredients and the imaging, it was negative and not celebratory at all.”
That gap became Masodi Organics’ calling card. Built from her passion for beauty, wellness and self-expression, Liz wanted to create products that celebrated black women for who they are. “I’ve always loved styling and playing around with my own hair. For me, beauty is self-expression. When I’m down or when I’m high, you’ll see it first in my hair, my skin, and my clothes,” she says with a giggle.
Masodi Organics is more than a brand. It’s a statement. For Liz, hair is central to reclaiming black identity and rewriting what beauty means. “I’m really proud of how many people today feel comfortable wearing their natural hair. Back in the day, it felt like there was a beauty war even among black women—afro girls side-eyeing weave girls, and vice versa. But underneath every weave is an afro, and that’s so refreshing. The point was never to take agency from women, but to say: we can be anything we want to be, whenever, through our hair.”
Her own hair story started later than most. Growing up in Tzaneen, she attended a farm school that enforced uniformity by shaving students’ heads.
“In my formative years, hair wasn’t a huge part of my story because as soon as it grew out, we had to cut it,” she reflects.
“It was only in my teenage years, after I changed schools, that I could finally experiment.” Her rule for haircare remains simple: “Keep your hair clean, keep it neat, and enjoy whichever style you’re in. You don’t need 12 different products in one routine. A lot of that is just business pushing revenues.”
Launching Masodi Organics was one thing. Keeping it alive in an industry dominated by multinationals was another. “The thrill of starting is going from zero to something. But staying in the game is harder. Competing with global giants who spend millions on marketing while we had to rely on social media and pop-up activations—it forced us to be creative. We had to make small wins count until they became big wins,” Liz explains.
Seven years later, Masodi Organics has grown from just four SKU over 25 SKU, spanning haircare and skincare.
The brand is currently undergoing a rebrands to reflect its evolution, with another relaunch set for October.
“Our imaging now represents the level we want to reach. You’ll see more inclusivity, more interesting ingredient choices, and a blend of high-value serums that are missing in the market,” Liz shares with excitement.
For her, Masodi was never a side hustle even from the beginning.
“Even when I was making butters in the kitchen, I called it an organisation. In my eyes, it was always big. Today, I’m humbled when people recognise the brand, but the feeling I had then is still the same.”
Masodi Organic’s heart will always be in celebrating black hair and identity, but Liz sees its future as bigger than that.
“I want beauty to be a shared experience, not a divisive one. A clarifying shampoo is a clarifying shampoo—it should work across textures. Yes, beauty is political, but there are more similarities between us than differences,” she says.
The upcoming product line is positioned as a global player while remaining proudly African. “I hope it champions African beauty and proves that products from this continent deserve the same respect as any other. But when people hear Africa, I don’t want them to think only black. Masodi is about inclusivity too—everyone should enjoy quality beauty experiences.”
From funding Masodi Organics with her corporate salary from three jobs she held before venturing into the business full-time, to building a respected beauty house, Liz’s story is one of grit, vision and pride.
Masodi Organics stands as proof that black women can carve their space in industries that once overlooked them—and do so with excellence. As Liz puts it: “At the end of the day, Masodi Organics is about celebrating us, but also about saying beauty is universal. It’s about hair, identity and freedom. And it’s about proving that what comes from Africa can stand tall anywhere in the world.”
