BEAUTY
H
airwise, I was my Dominican family’s problem
child. Every Saturday, I submitted to an hours-
long grooming process: Shampoo and condition
my hair, set it in rollers, sit under the hooded
dryer for an hour, and, finally, unravel each piece
of hair, only to smooth it further by quickly wrap-
ping up each section around my head and setting it with bobby pins.
The sun would have set by the time I could
flaunt my new pelo bueno, and excitement
would give way to anxiety. Let’s hope for
zero humidity this week!, I would think.
And no sweaty dance parties, please! Even-
tually, I learned how to blow-dry my hair,
and discovering the flatiron was one of the
happiest moments of my life. I dabbled with
wearing my hair in its natural state, but I al-
ways reverted back. Who could blame me?
Curly product offerings were slim, and You-
Tube tutorials were a thing of the future. I
also didn’t recognize the curl-framed face
in the mirror. Go fix your hair, I’d think.
“We’re not taught to take care of our hair,” says Ona Diaz-Santin,
owner of the 5 Salon & Spa in Fort Lee, New Jersey, which specializes
in curly hair. “Instead of learning to keep our hair healthy by trim-
ming it every six weeks and using moisturizing treatments, we were
taught to manage it.” As a little girl, Diaz-Santin, who is Dominican
American and grew up in her mother’s salons, would overhear styl-
ists pointing out clients with pelo malo—and promptly recommend
chemical relaxers. Today, she encourages clients to embrace this
hair type instead. “We don’t kill the integrity of the hair,” she says.
“Damaged hair is the real pelo malo.”
CURLY QUEUE
Coax your natural texture into its unique curl
pattern by layering products for hydration andHAIRWISE, I WAS MY
DOMINICAN FAMILY’S
PROBLEM CHILD. EVERY
SATURDAY, I SUBMITTED
TO AN HOURS-LONG
GROOMING PROCESS.
MASK
INSTEAD OF
AUTOMATICALLY
USING
CONDITIONER
AFTER SHAMPOO,
SWAP IN A DEEP
TREATMENT,
LIKE PANTENE
PRO-V INTENSE
RESCUE SHOTS
($6 FOR THREE).CREAM
FORM INDIVIDUAL
CURLS WITH A
CREAM THAT
DISTINGUISHES
EACH SECTION
FROM THE REST.
APPLY RIZOS CURLS
CURL DEFINING
CREAM ($22) FROM
ROOTS TO ENDS.LEAVE-IN
RIGHT OUT OF THE
SHOWER, AFTER
GENTLY TOWEL
DRYING, PREP HAIR
WITH A LEAVE-IN
CONDITIONER.
ORIBE PRIMING
LOTION LEAVE-IN
CONDITIONING
DETANGLER ($38)
IS SPECIFICALLY
FOR CURLS.GEL
LOCK IN MOISTURE
AND THE NATURAL
CURL PATTERN
THAT EMERGES
POSTWASH WITH
AN ALCOHOL-
FREE GEL, LIKE
BOTÁNIKA BEAUTY
THE PROTECTOR
STYLING GEL ($11).OIL
ONCE YOUR
HAIR HAS DRIED,
PREVENT FRIZZ
BY CAREFULLY
SEPARATING CURLS
WITH A HAIR OIL.
TRY SILICONE-FREE
PLAYA RITUAL
HAIR OIL ($38).12 3 4 5
Lately, a buzz of Latinas rewriting the pelo malo narrative is
turning into a roar, particularly online. Some do so in cheeky ways,
like stylist and influencer Sherly Tavarez, with her popular “Pelo
Malo Where?” T-shirts. This spring, New York City–based influenc-
er Ada Rojas launched Botánika Beauty, a hair-care line inspired by
what she learned on her publicly shared journey to wear her hair
natural. The name, she says, is a riff on botanicas, the neighborhood
apothecaries so beloved by Latinas.
“There’s a whole community of empow-
ered natural Latinas,” says Los Angeles–
based Julissa Prado, founder of the Rizos
Curls product line. “This is about the girl
who isn’t afraid to represent her culture.
She’s unapologetic.” Prado’s proud slogan,
#RizosReinas, calls women queens—and
their hair, their crowns.
One of the boldest exemplars of this
movement is Carolina Contreras, owner of
Miss Rizos Salon in Santo Domingo, Domin-
ican Republic, a country notorious for its
silky-straight “Dominican blowout.” The longtime activist and blog-
ger reclaimed the conversation by opening a salon–cum–community
center that caters to natural hair. “How can hair be bad?” she asks.
“Has hair robbed a bank? No? Then let’s stop using that term.” It’s
gaining momentum. From models walking the runway with natural
texture to influencers whose curls, coils, and kinks have made them
famous, it’s a good time to redefine our hair language. I couldn’t be
happier about it. I might not yet be curl-fluent—old habits die hard—
but pelo malo slights have never been uttered by me. My twins are
18 years old now, beautiful and healthy and the lights of my life. And
their hair? Neither good nor bad. Just...hair.
P
roducts:^
courtesyof^
the
brands82