In her prime. Monique Rodriguez, the founder of Mielle Organics, has built a successful haircare brand that has changed the crowns and lives of many Black women.
Rodriguez, 39, opened up to Us Weekly exclusively about the cosmetics label in celebration of being included in Sally Beauty’s, We See You campaign, which highlights a range of brands through founder spotlights during Black History Month. The project is especially important to Rodriguez as Sally Beauty was the first national beauty retailer to distribute her line.
“It’s a blessing,” Rodriguez told Us. “Sally Beauty really believed in us and for me, that will always mean a lot.”
Through her serums, conditioners, creams, sprays — including the new Avocado & Tamanu Ant-Frizz System — and more, Rodriguez aims to celebrate Black women by helping them grow to love and care for their curly, coily or kinky manes.
While the brand has been known among the Black community for years, Mielle Organics recently caught the eye of a different demographic via TikTok, which ultimately led to a heated debate. It all unfolded in December 2022 when influencer Alix Earle raved over the brand’s Rosemary Mint Oil, which promotes hair growth. Following her endorsement, which garnered nearly 600,000 views, the product became increasingly sought-after, causing concern among Black shoppers — who argued that Earle’s praise of the oil would make it less available to women of color. A few weeks later P&G acquired Mielle Organics, which stirred even more anxiety among consumers.
Rodriguez weighed in on the matter to Us, sharing: “I can definitely relate and understand the frustration because the reality is there is a lack of access to products for Black consumers … But I want to reassure our Black consumers that the way we’re able to scale and grow and create more accessibility for our consumers is to create partnerships and for more people to know about us.”
She continued: “And that’s one of the reasons we partnered with P&G. We understand there’s a lack of access to great products and leaning on partners can help increase distribution … I assured my customers even on Instagram, stressing that just because we’re scaling up and giving you more doesn’t mean we’re going to sacrifice the integrity and the formulas of the product.”
Rodriguez explained that the acquisition allows Mielle Organics to cater to not just Black women but all women “across the board,” she told Us. “If you have a problem, we want our brand to help you solve it with affordable, high-quality ingredients.”
Still, the beauty mogul will “continue to celebrate Black women.” Rodriguez said: “I want to lead by example, by being an inspiration to our Black woman women to show them the possibilities of what they can be.”
Haircare isn’t the only way Rodriguez pours into her community. “I do a retreat every year, the Secret Sauce to Success Retreat, during Women’s History Month and I provide participants with resources, access and expertise.”
Rodriguez always knew Mielle Organics would be a success — but didn’t believe she’d achieve so much “within a short timeframe.”
“My mindset when I started was, I’m going to go full throttle and give it my all and keep building and in the next 20 years I’ll be able to kick my feet up. I just didn’t know it would happen in eight years,” she told Us.
Rodriguez also didn’t know that a traumatic experience would lead to the creation of Mielle Organics.
“It was birthed out of pain,” she shared. “I went through a very challenging experience in my life in 2013 with the loss of my son, having a high-risk pregnancy. I was working as a nurse at the time, a job that wasn’t fulfilling for me.”
She continued: “I realized I had a different passion; I knew I had a different calling on my life and going through that pain led me to my purpose, discovering who I truly was. Once I decided to get to know myself and to get to know God, I stepped out on faith and into something I’m truly passionate about and that’s being in the beauty space.”
Rodriguez started by creating “concoctions” in her kitchen that she hoped would restore her own hair. She quickly realized her “mixtures” also helped other women and the rest is history.
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The company’s name honors her children. “So, I have Mia, Mackenzie and my son’s name was Milan. Mia and Mackenzie’s middle names are Gabrielle and Arielle, so it’s Mielle … all of their names.”
Furthermore, Mielle Organics is a love letter to Rodriguez. “This brand has allowed me to truly love my natural curls and my texture more than I ever have before.”
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