Resa Luster-Mac and her relatives stand at the forefront of the beauty scene as one of the few completely Black-owned hair care brands.
From early childhood, she watched her grandfather and later her father build a brand that has celebrated nearly seven decades of keeping Black hair soft, curly, and hydrated.
Fred Luster Sr., a Chicago barber, grew weary of not finding products that adequately served his Black customers and chose to create his own formulations.
He progressed from selling out of the back of his truck to distributing from warehouses, and today products are vanishing from shelves in retailers around the world.
And thanks to a newly popular Netflix series, the Luster family is being discovered in an entirely new light.
Today, the Chicago-based company remains a premier name in beauty products created specifically for us and by us since the late 1950s.
Luster’s Pink Products, Inc. was established in 1957, with Fred Luster serving as president and his wife, Blondell Luster, as chairman of the board.
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Resa Luster-Mac often recalls stories about her grandfather, Fred Luster Sr., who had his children—including her father, Jory Luster—helping in the family barbershop on 47th Street from a very young age.
Luster-Mac currently works alongside her other family members, serving as the company’s chief marketing executive.
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Luster-Mac noted that Perry’s portrayal mirrors certain aspects of her family’s real-life structure.
In reality, her father holds the role of chief executive, while her uncle, a chemist, is also an owner.
She said the company originally had three owners, including her aunt, who has since retired.
Still, fans of Luster say Perry introduced a few creative liberties with the characters.
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“The characters are a bit mixed up,” Luster-Mac conceded, pointing to a family member who married into the business but is portrayed differently on screen.
She noted that some people tell her she resembles the show’s lead character, Mallory, played by Crystle Stewart, who married into the family business.
“People tell me I’m Mallory, but I’m actually the CEO’s daughter,” says Resa with a smile.
Her journey began as an intern and advanced through roles from assistant brand manager to brand manager on a larger scale, ultimately becoming chief marketing officer.
Her family’s company has endured nearly seven decades by staying prudent and not living beyond its means.
Yet selling the company to a white counterpart, even during challenging times, was never part of the plan.
“My grandfather never intended to sell the company. He wanted to keep it 100% family-owned and Black-owned,” explains Resa. “He came from Mississippi, where his family had faced dispossession on a farm, and he felt many things had been taken from families like his.”
She recalls a night when someone came to her grandparents’ home and warned, “You need to leave this land, or you won’t be here tonight.”
Without warning, the family left behind their rural farm life and moved to the big city of Chicago.
After Fred’s passing in 1991, his son, Jory Luster Sr., became president and CEO of Luster Products. The products began to be carried in more hair and department stores nearby.
Resa Luster-Mac is now married to Ross Mac, a Wharton-trained financial educator and media personality. The two were high school sweethearts who reconnected in 2014 and tied the knot in 2020.
