Natural Haircare Brand Rizo's Curls Is Textured Hair's BFF

Founded in 2017 by Julissa Prado, the Latina-owned and operated, all-natural haircare brand Rizo's Curls has become the go-to for Latina women looking to care for and enhance their natural hair texture.

For Prado, curly hair has been both a blessing and a challenge. Though she now embraces her curls, it wasn't always easy. Fast-forward to today, the journey has come full circle as she leads a thriving curly hair empire celebrating the beauty of curls, coils and waves, that reflect her Mexican and Latina heritage. It's even attracted both TikTok curly girls and celebrities like Selena Gomez.

The founder's love for her community extends to her partnerships. Paying it forward, she offers several annual scholarship funds and is an ambassador for Colgate to promote its sponsorship of the Hispanic Heritage Foundation's "Haz La U Grant Initiative," which awards educational grants totaling $100,000 USD to Latino students.

While the brand has previously been available at Ulta and Target, Rizo's Curls officially launched at Nordstrom earlier this year, marking its first entry into department stores.

Below, we talk to the founder about building her own brand and the secret to embracing natural texture.

For more haircare news, read about the skincare-inspired method of hair cycling.

What was the inspiration behind the brand's name?

Rizo's Curls means "curls curls" because Rizo means "curls" in Spanish. The inspiration behind it is combining these two cultures, which are very important to me.

What is your favorite curly hairstyle?

My go-to curly hairstyle is just a middle part down. My realistic curly girl hairstyle is my deep conditioning low bun, where I put deep conditioner in my hair and slick my hair back. I just have my hair marinated in deep-conditioner goodness.

Were you always confident about your curls?

I wasn't always confident about my curls. I was definitely that curly girl that absolutely hated her hair growing up and would strain it every single day, so confidence was something that I had to learn.

What are three words to describe being a beauty brand founder or a woman in business?

Exhausting, fun and empowering.

What do you hope your brand's legacy will be?

I want my brand's legacy to be self-sustaining. You can start with very little and even start in a garage -- you don't have to have a lot in order to grow your business into something big.

What are three things a girl with curls should never do?

Brush your hair dry, shampoo too often or put in way too much product.

If you have chronic migraines and over-wash your hair for relief, can you do this without damaging your hair?

Something people don't realize is that if you wash your hair frequently, you don't always need shampoo. Instead, you can co-wash, which means you can just use conditioner to cleanse and rinse your hair. I typically shampoo once or twice a week, but if I need to wash more often, I switch to co-washing.

What's your favorite Rizo's Curl product right now?

My current favorite product is our "California Classic" hair and body perfume. It's made of sugar cane alcohol, so it doesn't dry out your skin and hair. It's also made with a citrus blend to neutralize odors because curly hair tends to pick up smells, like from barbecues or smoke and can end up smelling unpleasant.

The top notes are lime zest and "California" lemon. The middle notes are "Bergamot Blossom" and coconut, ginger and white florals. The bottom notes are sandalwood, vanilla, coconut milk and "Vegan Musk."

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