{"id":29170,"date":"2024-12-21T09:54:28","date_gmt":"2024-12-21T09:54:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/freshsites.download\/celenews\/monique-rodriguez-on-mielle-organics-revitalizing-products-going-viral-whats-next-for-her-brand\/"},"modified":"2024-12-21T09:54:28","modified_gmt":"2024-12-21T09:54:28","slug":"monique-rodriguez-on-mielle-organics-revitalizing-products-going-viral-whats-next-for-her-brand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freshsites.download\/celenews\/monique-rodriguez-on-mielle-organics-revitalizing-products-going-viral-whats-next-for-her-brand\/","title":{"rendered":"Monique Rodriguez On Mielle Organics’ Revitalizing Products, Going Viral, & What’s Next For Her Brand!"},"content":{"rendered":"


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When Monique Rodriguez founded Mielle Organics<\/a> in 2014, she set out to create effective haircare, skincare, and body care products that didn\u2019t break the bank. Today, her brand\u2019s become one to watch for its healthy ingredients and wide-ranging products\u2014plus its viral rosemary hair <\/em>oil, a staple of beauty TIkTok! Below, we caught up with Monique on the story behind Mielle Organics, how she handled her brand breaking the internet, and what comes next!<\/i><\/p>\n

How did you get the idea to found Mielle Organics?<\/strong>
I founded Mielle Organics because I\u2019ve always wanted to work in the beauty space, but I let my dreams of working in the beauty industry get distracted by becoming a registered nurse. I graduated college and started working as a labor and delivery nurse, and I did that for eight years\u2014but I never felt like it was a fulfilling career for me. In 2013, I had suffered a very tragic loss with the loss of my son when I was eight months pregnant, and that\u2019s what prompted me to do a lot of spiritual healing. On this journey [to] really discover myself, I decided to channel that pain and turn it into purpose, and from that place of grief that\u2019s where Mielle Organics was created and born, which is a true testament to being able to turn a situation of adversity into an opportunity. I saw social media as a creative outlet [to] express myself and talk about what I love, and that was beauty and hair care. I started making my own concoctions and documenting my hair journey on social media, and then I saw that women were also very fascinated by the journey. They started being more inquisitive and asking questions. I learned that there was this community of Black women like myself, who were looking for education and products to help enhance their natural texture, help their curls. That was a lightbulb moment for me. That\u2019s when I decided to take these concoctions that I was making at home and figure out a way that the women that were asking questions about it can buy it. I knew that I needed to find a chemist to help create stability. Of course, once I put my name on something, I don\u2019t want it to be a bad product. I was able to connect with chemists to formulate my first product. That was the beginning of the creation of Mielle.<\/p>\n

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Monique Rodriguez<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Your Rosemary Mint Scalp & Hair Strengthening Oil<\/a> went especially viral online. What was that experience like\u2014how did you realize it was becoming so popular?
<\/strong>When we went viral, it took me a moment to realize we were going viral. Our model has always been slow and steady wins the race\u2014so we were not looking for a viral moment. We were just looking to serve our consumer and stay true to our vision, being very authentic. When that happened, I learned about the viral moment from my daughter, who\u2019s on Tiktok. She\u2019s like, \u201cHey, this influencer who\u2019s very popular, she\u2019s using your product.\u201d I was like, \u201cOh, that\u2019s pretty cool.\u201d The next thing I know, it just had this moment. It\u2019s a, \u201cOh, wow, pinch me\u201d moment. People are really seeing what I saw in the brand for so long. It was really a moment of reflection and gratefulness of what I built, how far I\u2019ve come, and that people were loving a product that I created.<\/p>\n

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Mielle Organics Rosemary Mint scalp & hair strengthening oil<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Why do you think so many people reacted so strongly\u2014and are paying so much attention to\u2014this particular product?<\/strong>
I think it garnered a lot of attention because it works! A lot of women may suffer from different hair issues, and they\u2019re looking for solutions to combat whatever problems they\u2019re having. My goal has always been to be a problem solver and to create innovative, affordable, high-quality products made with the best ingredients. We had dermatologists and scientists that were looking at our ingredients and backing us and showing how these ingredients were so effective with helping any type of hair concerns. It nourishes the hair follicles, it helps with split ends, it soothes dry scalps\u2014so it helps maintain healthy hair. Women were just in search of that, and when they found the product that actually worked and did exactly what it said it was going to do, it sparked so many people to just talk about it. That\u2019s what created this viral moment.<\/p>\n

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Monique Rodriguez<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Mielle Organics has a range of core ingredients, from rosemary to pomegranate. How do you go about picking the next new ingredients to add to your product lines?
<\/strong>When I go about picking ingredients, it takes a lot of social listening and combining that with data. Being able to blend nature and science helps us create innovative products using high-quality ingredients. I have always been this nerd about ingredients, and understanding how ingredients perform, how they work on the body. I will go down a rabbit hole of [coming] across an ingredient, and I see how it\u2019s beneficial. I\u2019m also looking other categories to see what\u2019s trending, and I\u2019m also interested in what\u2019s trending in other countries. I\u2019m really obsessed with what the process is with other countries and cultures and what they\u2019re using. How can I bring that innovation to serve my customer, and making sure that the products not only are focused heavily on the ingredients [and the] ingredient story is great, but also can the performance back up [the] ingredient story? It can be a great ingredient. Let\u2019s say the ingredient is used in skincare, but if we transfer it over to hair care, it\u2019s not going to be great, performance-wise, on textured hair. It has both; [it] has to be a really great ingredient, and it has to perform very well on textured hair, and then we listen to our community. We provide the education, we empower our communities [to] feel great about their hair. Our consumers will let us know how the products work, how the products perform, if they like the ingredient story. Being a brand that listens to her is of the utmost important. We just compile all that data together, and we come together in the lab and we formulate great products.<\/p>\n

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Mielle Organics Rosemary Mint collection<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

It\u2019s party season! When it comes to getting ready for a holiday party, what are your tip tips for having perfect party-ready hair?
<\/strong>Make sure that you have a very consistent hair routine. Washing your hair on a consistent basis, whether it\u2019s every two weeks or every week, having a very good deep conditioning regimen, making sure that you\u2019re trimming your ends so you can prevent damage and split ends. Be careful on the heat styling, depending on your your goals. If you want to maintain and preserve your curls, you want to be careful with how much heat you put on your hair. But if you are a girl that loves to put heat on your hair, we recommend our avocado and tamanu line, which is an anti-frizz collection that focuses on restoring the hair cuticles. If you do want to wear a silk press, if you want to wear your hair straightened out, we\u2019re restoring the cuticles to prevent any water moisture from getting in and expanding the hair shaft. Also, [use] a good heat protectant so you don\u2019t damage your hair. It\u2019s really about the maintenance, washing, deep conditioning, using the heat protective [products] if you use heat\u2014or if not, making sure that your curls are well hydrated and moisturized.<\/p>\n

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Monique Rodriguez<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

When you\u2019re traveling, what are 3 beauty essentials you always have in your bag?
<\/strong>Narrowing it down to three is very hard! I definitely always have a rosemary product, either the rosemary hair oil or my edge gel. I always have a good hand sanitizer, because I am a germaphobe. Then I have a good lip gloss!<\/p>\n

Are there any special items or experiences on the top of your holiday wishlist this year?
<\/strong>I would love to go to New York, to experience [a] New York Christmas. I have not yet done that, and my kids want to do that so bad! That is an experience that I would love to do, is just experience the New York Christmas scene<\/p>\n

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Monique Rodriguez<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

What projects are you working on for the future? Anything you can tell us on what\u2019s on your docket in 2025?
<\/strong>We\u2019re always focused on new launches, product innovation, new product offerings driving our community awareness, and community work that we do with Mielle Cares. I would love to talk about how we are entering into this space where we\u2019re going to expand into new categories. I think about skin care, and not just being a brand that focuses on haircare\u2014but being a brand that focuses on this ever-changing consumer, how she continues to evolve, and how we, as a brand, can be able to have the foresight to anticipate the needs of our communities and stay ahead of the curve, stay ahead of the trends, and always remain innovative with everything that we do. I also have a book that\u2019s coming out that talks about how Mielle was founded 10 years ago. For me, that\u2019s my gift to my community\u2014to uplift, inspire and just motivate people to do the best version of themselves, because everyone can always see the glory in their own story.<\/p>\n

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Monique Rodriguez<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

All images: Courtesy of Mielle Organics\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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