Julissa Prado, Rizos Curls- Proudly Leading Latina Curls to the Forefront

Nov 9

Click here for the full audio-visual experience!

This week, I spoke to Julissa Prado, Founder and CEO of Rizos Curls, a clean hair care line aimed at embracing and celebrating the beauty of curls, coils, and waves. Julissa was born and raised in Los Angeles; she is a first-generation American, her parents are from Mexico. Early in life, Julissa noticed the various textures of Latina hair amongst members of her family and community; yet one thing was consistent, everyone went through great lengths to straighten their hair. Her cousin conducted her first hair straightening experience with a clothes iron. She received so many compliments about her hair that day, all the attention got her hooked to the straightening bandwagon.

However, she soon discovered that the straightening process led to hair damage. With the desire to repair and restore her curls, Julissa saved up money and bought many curly hair products, but none worked. She decided to create a curly hair cocktail using natural ingredients and became her community’s “curl whisperer.” Julissa was the go-to person for hairstyles for special events and celebrations; her homemade hair product was indeed a hit.

Her hair journey birthed a dream to create a sustainable product for all curly-haired girls. After four years of perfecting her formula, she launched Rizos Curls. Rizos Curls’ products are formulated to create defined, bouncy, shiny, frizz-free, soft, and voluminous curls. Julissa’s products have given what she calls undercover curlies the confidence to wear their hair natural. She saw an increase in the desire of fellow Latinas to ditch the flat iron during the pandemic while everywhere was on lockdown. Julissa received numerous inquiries, and she began to use her social platforms as an educational tool. Since its launch, Rizos Curls has amassed a global following and fast becoming a favorite amongst the curly hair community.

Rizos Curls’ products ship to over 57 countries; they are also available at Target, Sally Beauty, and Alta. At Alta, it is the first curly hair product to be featured on their shelves. One of Julissa’s most recent milestones is having Mexico be the first country outside of the United States to sell her products at a major retailer and becoming the first Mexican-owned curly hair product line in the country. It was a full-circle moment for her as she reminisced about her father once working as a shoe shiner in Mexico, and now she is making waves in that same place. She describes her success as being bigger than her.

“Maybe I’ll be the first in a lot of these spaces, but I certainly won’t be the last.” - Julissa

In today’s episode, Julissa shares a lot of golden nuggets as she speaks about having great family support, working with her brother, managing her team, and the benefits of being a self-funded brand. She also talks about how she has incorporated fun and creativity into her business endeavors. Julissa truly is inspiring; she will motivate you to start small and dream big.

In This Episode You Will Learn:

The origin: embracing natural hair (4:38)
The biggest weakness becomes the biggest strength (16:15)
Going full-time with the vision (22:38)
Making wise decisions for your brand (29:30)
Making history and paving new paths (32:46)
True creativity does not have to cost you (41:10)
The self-funding strategy (53:59)

Questions Answered:

What would you advise someone to focus on during the product development stage?
How did you decide on selecting your brother as your business partner?
What are some of the key differences between working on your business part-time versus full-time?
How does a business flourish while being self-funded?
How can a brand effectively prepare for retail?
What inspires your creativity with your brand?
What are some crucial people management skills for a business owner?

Stream Black on Shelf NOW on Apple Podcast, Spotify, YouTube, Google Podcast, Amazon Music, Stitcher, and Pandora!

Connect with Rizos Curls: