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BeforeJulissa PradofoundedRizos Curlsand went viral oncurly-girl TikTok, she was just a teenager with a passion for hair.
Courtesy of Julissa Prado. Photo by David Avalos.
I was the hair girl.
I’m completely self-funded, she says.
I’ve never had investors.
Courtesy of Julissa Prado. Photo by David Avalos.
But something money can’t buy is 100 first cousins in LA.
Even the idea of clean beauty and natural ingredientspeople think clean beauty is a new, Western trend.
And I’m like, you do realize that my Mexican grandma has been doing that!
Courtesy of Julissa Prado. Photo by David Avalos.
We just didn’t call it that.
Because I know how much those grants in similar situations helped me.
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Courtesy of Julissa Prado. Photo by David Avalos.
Glamour: What inspired you to create Rizos Curls?
Julissa Prado:I started making my own hair care concoctions and then finally I made something I liked.
I remember going to school for the first day wearing my hair curly, and it changed my life.
Courtesy of Julissa Prado. Photo by David Avalos.
From that point forward, I became the curl whisperer.
Mind you, I’m a teenager15 years old at this point.
They would be like, I actually have curly hair.
Can you help me?
I never actually pursued a cosmetology degree.
I went through a lot of phases of what I wanted to dolaw, politics, and then business.
How did you get your business off the ground?
But I was always had this side passion project where I was helping people with their hair.
It wasn’t until 2013 that I decided to start making the formulas professionally.
I used my life savings to fund making the actual formulas.
I had zero marketing dollars.
The models are my cousins and I; the photographer was my brother.
I made the website.
It was a huge family effort.
Yeah, I’m completely self-funded.
I’ve never had investors.
But something money can’t buy is 100 first cousins in LA.
The idea of clean beauty and natural ingredientspeople thinkclean beautyis a new, Western trend.
And I’m like, you do realize that my Mexican grandma has been doing that!
We just didn’t call it that.
The brand in general is a celebration of Latino culture, everything Latinidad.
Anything that’s pushing the Latino community forward.
Ive never had investors.
But something money cant buy is 100 first cousins in LA.
What advice do you have for aspiring Latinas in the beauty community?
They don’t innately already have that knowledge.
When you’re a small business, you are able to be more versatile and implement change.
You are able to stay on trends, you’re able to communicate and directly innovate with your customer.
They can be your product development advice squad.
They are the ones that almost can be used as a resource directly.
You mentioned the feeling of being discouraged.
Did you have to overcome a lot of obstacles while building Rizos Curls?
One wrong move, you’re free to’t pay your employees.
One wrong move is the end of your business.
So for us, it’s definitely been that.
Latinas don’t care about natural; they care about coupons.
And I remember being like, You don’t even know us!
Let me see some of your teams.
Do you have anybody in your team that looks like me or comes from a similar background?
What are you doing that is for the Latino community?
Let me see some of your teams.
Do you have anybody in your team that looks like me?
What are you doing for the Latino community?
And what was the moment you realized you really made it?
The business is way more than anything my little brain could have imagined.
In the beginning my mom thought we were selling out of our trunks.
She thought I was an Avon lady.
She would make announcements at our church like, We’re going to be selling outside.
Obviously, we have to discuss beauty.
What are the beauty and hair products you cant live without?
I’ve been really into Rizos Curls Beach Wave Spray.
I have the travel version of it right now.
I always thought salt sprays were for straight- or wavy-hair people.
But ever since I started using it, it makes me look like I have so much hair.
It has benefits for all textures.
For straight and wavy hair, it makes it more defined and it creates texture.
For people that have curly or coily hair, it makes it look really full and extra voluminous.
Then, for my teeth, I love the Colgate Optic White ComfortFit LED Teeth Whitening Kit.
Again, on-the-go girlie.
I really like that.
It’s a really good brown that matches with everything.
What advice do you have for people who are trying to embrace their naturally textured hair?
They’re trying out their natural hair for the first time, which just blows my mind.
There are two parts.
One is the repair part, and there are two parts of that.
If you have a lot of damage, I would recommend deep conditioning once a week.
Sophia Richiedid this in a tutorialshe has that sleek bun that she does with the middle part.
That’s something I literally did because my hair was really damaged from bleaching it.
Rizos Curls Vitamin C Hair Repair Mask
The second one is buildup on your scalp and hair.
If you have oily scalp, it balances it to a normal scalp.
If you have dry scalp, it balances it.
The ACV rinse also has black tea kombucha, green tea extract, rice extract, niacinamide.
Whats the biggest hair care mistake that curly girls tend to make with their hair?
One of them is not shampooing.
I’m like, When was the last time you shampooed?
And they’ll say, It’s been three years.
And then I’m like, Can you send me a picture of your scalp or your hair?
Shampooing and cleaning your scalp is so important.
That’s one bighair care mistake.
A lot of time when people say, My hair doesn’t last.
That’s because you need some hold.
Finally, whats your astrological sign?
I’m a Pisces.
My big three: Pisces Sun, Libra Moon, and Virgo Rising.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
