This Founder Created A Self-Care Space For Black Women—Here Are Her Tips For Finding Peace
For The Self Care Lab founder, Imani Murray, she didn’t grow up watching women treating themselves to bouquets of fresh calla lilies or bundles of eucalyptus. A romantic partner sometimes […] The post This Founder Created A Self-Care Space For Black Women—Here Are Her Tips For Finding Peace appeared first on Essence.
Black News 
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By Keyaira Boone ·Updated August 6, 2025 < /> Getting your Trinity Audio player ready… For The Self Care Lab founder, Imani Murray, she didn’t grow up watching The Self Care Lab
Flowers were a gateway to Murray paying attention to what brought her peace. Soon, she was coloring, which soothed her. “It allows me to just separate all the chaos in my mind,” she admits. Eventually, she found that the ritual of strolling through the flower section added a dose of reliable beauty to her routine. “I just noticed how building an arrangement every week just brought so much joy into my space. It allowed me to be calm and be planted where my feet were.”
She picked up the habit of traveling once a week to snag roses, sunflowers, tulips, and more. It was the beginning of her developing a Amaya Cooper
Murray started The Self Care Lab in 2024 to create a soft space for others. She stresses the importance of self-care. “It’s a key aspect of life,” she says. “People need spaces where they can be their authentic selves. Be able to pour into themselves and just make time for them, especially in this climate. Now, everybody’s like, go, go, go, because they’re trying to be able to live and make money and just survive, and people are really needing spaces where they can just be calm and relaxed.”
Owner of a creative agency that provides event production and marketing, she pulled together her resources to create those much-needed, restorative spaces. She partnered with vendors on free events that provided floral arranging materials, body work, and other fun activities. Everyone was welcome. “We launched on National Healthcare Day. We had a pop-up. It was totally free here in Atlanta,” she says. “We did a flower bar. We did massages. We had open bar mocktails, wine [and] Black-owned Brands provided some goodies for people to take away.” Brands like Be Rooted, Black Girl Sunscreen and Bevel became involved. It soon expanded to Houston.
She also went on to launch a walking club that fosters a space for fitness and friendship along the Atlanta Beltline on Saturday mornings. “I enjoy walking, but I wanted to do it in community, and I wasn’t seeing Black women specifically where I walked,” says Murray.
The Self Care Lab This year, The Self Care Lab is embarking on a new adventure, expanding up to the northeast with a New York City Self-Care Summer. It includes a week of events, from a fragrance workshop, a color and sip evening of R&B, and a guided mocktail-making experience. The grand finale will be bringing one of their signature free pop-up events to Brooklyn on August 15. It’s an opportunity to pour into more Black women who need it and expand their understanding of self-care
The post This Founder Created A Self-Care Space For Black Women—Here Are Her Tips For Finding Peace appeared first on Essence.
