Women's History Month Spotlight: Julissa Prado

For our next Women’s History Month spotlight, Boyfriend is highlighting Julissa Prado, the LA born, Afro-Mexican founder of Rizos Curls; an all natural product line for curly, textured hair.

Julissa Prado first had the dream for Rizos Curls at a young age, when she continuously saw women in her community who didn’t embrace their natural look or who didn’t have the knowledge to style their hair. She wanted to create a product that would help women embrace their natural hair.  With an entrepreneurial spirit, she began saving for Rizos Curls at a young age through the tips she received working at her father's restaurant. Fast-forward years later, she used those funds to begin work on the formula. Julissa ran into some issues finding a lab to create her product, since most were pushing her to use synthetic ingredients. She finally found a lab that allowed her to experiment with natural ingredients and the final product was a natural oil, aloe-based product, free of parabens, sulfates and harmful chemicals.

Even though Julissa earned her masters in Business Management, she attributes her success to her family. She grew up watching the people in her community hustle and was inspired by her own father’s journey from a dishwasher to a restaurant owner. The people Julissa was surrounded by made something out of nothing. Because they are so important to her, and played such a pivotal role in her life, Julissa includes her family in her business. Product fulfillment takes place at her uncle’s house, her younger cousins are hired to fulfill orders, and her brother helps with the finances. It’s easy to see that Julissa keeps her roots of family and community at the forefront of her business.

We’re not only inspired by Julissa Prado because of her successful business, but also because she desires to change the way women feel about themselves, starting with teaching them how to love the hair they were born with.