Carolina Contreras is the founder and CEO of Miss Rizos, providing products designed for curly and Afro-textured hair.
Contreras is Dominican American, and her products will be sold at Sephora, as part of their 2022 Accelerate brand incubator program.
Miss Rizos, Rizos meaning ‘curls’ in Spanish, was once a blog that celebrated natural hair, via the website, social media, and a handful of hair salons.
As a young adult Contreras decided to spend some time in the Dominican Republic. She intended to learn more about Blackness within the Dominican diaspora since it wasn’t a common topic of discussion. Throughout her trip, while she was sunbathing, two professors approached her and suggested that she stop tanning before she got too dark. Contreras was reminded of the current issue of colorism in her country and explained that she was not bothered by getting darker. The professors mentioned she was strict on embracing her blackness, but she had relaxed hair. This was the moment Contreras realized that she had been conditioned to have relaxed hair through society and lack of knowing any other options. After this encounter, she cut her hair and began her natural hair journey, becoming more in touch with her blackness and later finding her purpose.
Original post by: Sheyla Baez/NBC News
Read more here: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/afro-latinas-mission-embrace-natural-hair-gets-push-beauty-giant-rcna16641
