Another week of Black History month means another feature, and this one is sure not to disappoint! Mielle Organics has been taking the natural hair world by storm since launching their very first product in 2014. Containing nothing but organic ingredients, these “Pure. Simple. Natural.” products are a must have for naturalistas of all textures. The founder and CEO, Monique Rodriguez, was gracious enough to give us the inside scoop on how she took her nursing background and turned it into a successful company that is now helping millions of black women maintain healthy natural hair around the globe.

1. How long have you been natural? I have been natural all my life, I had severe heat damaged and since then that has been going on 4 years of limiting heat to my hair.

 

2. What was your reaction to the natural hair movement? My reaction was a great reaction, Happy that we are now embracing who we are and not conforming to society standards of how they feel we should look on a day to day basis.

 

3. What’s one thing you swear by for your natural hair? One thing I swear by is good ol plain water because water, we need to hydrate our bodies and our hair. It is one of the first ingredients overall that we need above all for growth hydration and moisture from the inside on to the outside.

 

4. How did you come up with the name of your hair care brand?  The name is a combination of my 2 kids names.  Their middle names both have E-l-l-E at the end and I combined that together with “MI” pronounced My-elle, because they are both My- elle’s  🙂

 

5. What made you dive into the natural hair care business?  I got into the natural hair business because I saw a void on the education aspect of educating consumers on ingredients and knowing the importance.  I saw a lot of products out, but I didn’t understand why I needed them and a lot that were out had bad ingredients and were made by people who don’t look like me and how  can those people tell me how to take care of my hair so I thought I would create my own and give the education to consumers that was lacking.

 

6. What has been the greatest hardship since starting your company? How did you overcome? The greatest hardship was not having a mentor or someone to talk to in the beginning.  I had to figure out a lot of things on my own and with that you make mistakes.  I feel that every mistake I made only made me a stronger person andI have surprised myself with what I am capable of and that’s what’s most important.

 

7. What do you want Naturalistas to think when they see the name of your brand?  I want them to think luxury but affordable, high quality and great ingredients that work and don’t just claim to work.

 

8. What differentiates you from all the other natural hair products on the market?  My background in registered nursing helped to produce the line, I understood the importance of using high quality ingredients that are effective for hair growth.  So when we formulate, we formulate with that in mind, not focusing just on hair care but how healthy are the ingredients when absorbed in your blood stream.

 

9. What is the key to success?  Hard work, determination, drive, having a spirit of never giving up, and being persistent and consistent in everything you do.

 

10. What’s your advice for young entrepreneurs?  Follow your dreams and your passion.  Don’t start out chasing money, chase your vision and the money will follow.  Don’t ever compare your journey to someone else’s because you never know what that person encountered on their journey and it’s easy to get caught up comparing in the social media world, but it’s important to find your unique gift and niche, stay in that lane and focus on what makes you special and stand out.

A huge thank you to Monique Rodriguez for sharing her unique outlook on the relationship of hair care and science. It’s so refreshing to see a company that’s highest priority is the health of not only the consumer’s hair, but body as well. I hope I was able to give you all more of a birdseye view on Mielle Organics, and how they are in a lane of their own.

To check out more on Mielle Organics please check out their website, link to their below!

Mielle Organics Website: https://mielleorganics.com/