Monique Rodriguez wants consumers to know: she’s here to stay. The founder and CEO of Mielle Organics sat down with ESSENCE Senior Beauty Editor Akili King on the first day of Beautycon for a conversation about growth and purpose as a Black woman, wife, mother, and brand owner.
Mielle Organics, one of the fastest growing hair brands on the market, has been the center of so many viral moments from celebrations, tutorials, and hair testimonies to critique and misinformation. Think: their viral Rosemary Mint hair oil that sparked a boom of cultural discourse as everyone attempted to get their hands on it, to the misinformation about product ingredients.
Taking it back to where it began, King asked Rodriguez to reflect on her earliest hair moments which sparked the inception of Mielle. Rodriguez recounted how, as a child, her hair was always associated with struggle. Despite the less than encouraging representation of textured hair girls had at the time, Rodriguez always loved beauty and hair care and could be found rummaging through her grandmother’s beauty counter. Later, she aspired to be the model on the infamous relaxer kits we all saw growing up.
Like many, Rodriguez was encouraged to find a good, stable career and was a registered nurse for eight years. A tragic loss caused her to evaluate her life and purpose and go for what truly fulfilled her. From there, she found her way back into hair care and the rest is history. Mielle Organics now celebrates ten years of business, with a host of achievements including being acquired by Procter and Gamble and being the first textured hair care brand to partner with the WNBA and the Olympics.
Looking forward, she plans to “show up, inspire and empower my community, and continue to create innovative products.” Rodriguez goes on to explain the significance of a brand being acquired by a large corporation. She explains how acquisition helps a brand scale larger and gain more support, but it does not mean she is any less involved. The product development, formulas, and vision of the brand still remains the same, with her at the core.
Rodriguez and King went on to ask Rodriguez about who is inspiring her today, her tried and true hair care routines, Mielle’s hopes for venturing into other categories, and how Rodriguez’s daughters are teaching her a thing or two about “glass skin.” In sum, Rodriguez and Mielle Organics set out to keep the beauty community at the center of all they do—and that is not going to change.
