Be Who You Are: 4 Tips From Hair Care Product Founder On Natural Answers
Lulu Cordero founded Bomba Curls for women like herself to be bold and be who they are.
“Be bold. Be Bomba. Be who you are.”
This is Lulu Cordero’s mantra. The founder and creator of Bomba Curls, took a turn from her pre-med studies to economics at the University of Chicago, back to her Dominican Republic roots to develop a hair care company that celebrates the natural beauty of women.
““Be bold. Be Bomba. Be who you are.” This is Lulu Cordero’s mantra, the founder and creator of @Bomba_Curls. #BombaHair #BeBomba”
Read more in Take The Lead on hair care entrepreneurs
On the first anniversary of her company that sells direct to consumer online, Cordero says the biggest lessons she’s learned are, “Don’t let yourself be boxed in. Don’t let what anybody thinks you are capable of be what defines you.”
Moving to the U.S. with her family at seven years old, Cordero says, “It was quite the culture shock.” Speaking little to no English, she went to school in Miami, and spent the summers within the Dominican Republic.
“That allowed me to stay connected to my culture,” says Cordero.
NBC News reports, “A Pew Research Center survey from 2016 showed that one-quarter of all U.S. Latinos self-identify as Afro-Latino, Afro-Caribbean or of African descent with roots in Latin America. This was the first time a nationally representative survey in the U.S. asked the Latino population directly whether they considered themselves Afro-Latino.”
“My dad is my inspiration. He came her as an immigrant and washed dishes at restaurants and within five years he started his own private security business. That inspired me,” she says.
Always excelling in math and science at school, Cordero went to University of Chicago as a pre-med major, and switched to economics. After graduating in 2009, she worked for a regional bank in Chicago, but later moved back to Florida to help her father grow his business.
In the background, she was concocting her own hair care products for herself. As an Afro-Dominican, she says the decision to go to natural curls is confusing at first.
“I didn’t know how to take care of my natural curls. For many Black women, you start relaxing it and straightening it early and I had a lot of damage,” Cordero says, including traction alopecia.
So she began creating her own hair oil, including castor seed oil and coffee seed, at the suggestion of her mother.
With her own products, she says, her alopecia disappeared and people would notice how healthy her hair was and ask, “What did you do?”
“With her own products, Cordero says, her alopecia disappeared and people would notice how healthy her hair was and ask, “What did you do?” @Bomba_Curls”
Cordero adds, “People wanted to buy it off me, so I was selling to friends and family.” Eventually, it grew into Bomba Curls, and a 100 percent self-funded, mass-produced line of hair care products officially launched in September 2019.
According to Visa’s State of Female Entrepreneurship study, 61% chose to self-fund their own startup, Forbes reports.
“According to Visa’s State of Female Entrepreneurship study, 61% chose to self-fund their own startup, @Forbes reports. #FemaleEntrepreneurs”
“The decision to self-fund, according to the report, is one that the majority of women in business often make out of necessity. Those surveyed reported it was difficult to obtain the funding they needed for their companies—only 25% of female entrepreneurs received any type of funding from investors. And, in some cases, their funding efforts weren’t even provided in full: 8% received only partial funding from investors,” Forbes reports.
According to Entrepreneur, “‘Nearly eight in 10 black consumers have chemically free hair and prefer product collections made for their specific texture, hair issues, and styling choices,’ write the authors of a 2019 Mintel report, which predicts the natural black hair care market will grow 11 percent to nearly $2 billion by 2024.”
That space is filling up, recently with entries from Tracee Ross, and her line, Pattern.
“The natural black hair care market is filling up, recently with entries from @TraceeEllisRoss, and her line, @PatternBeauty. #NaturalHair”
For Bomba Curls fans, “It has been awesome for the Latino community to see products like these and see someone who looks like them,” Cordero says.
“For @Bomba_Curls fans, “It has been awesome for the #Latino community to see products like these and see someone who looks like them,” Cordero says. #Representation”
With the goal of expanding the line globally, Cordero says she has a message for entrepreneurs and young girls who dream of starting their own business.
“With the goal of expanding @Bomba_Curls globally, Cordero says she has a message for #entrepreneurs and young girls who dream of starting their own business. ”
1. Learn as you go. “You can make that vision happen. The beauty industry is not my lane, but I know a thing or two about formulations and I’m still learning as I go along.”
2. Become more badass. “Take the good and keep going.”
3. Encourage the next generation. “I feel like society conditions us to believe we do not have what it takes. Inspire others because I am proud to see someone who looks like them have a business.”
4. Trust your gut. “I know some people may discourage you. They don’t see your vision. As long as you trust your gut it will steer you in the right direction.”
Cordero says how her company has resonated so deeply with women is encouraging and deeply satisfying.
“Cordero says how her company @Bomba-Curls has resonated so deeply with women is encouraging and deeply satisfying. #FemaleEntrepreneurs #Representation”
“I was not expecting the response we received. With my natural curls as an Afro-Dominican woman, there is a lot of pain with our hair. Our hair tells our story, it is our heritage. We are told our hair is like a birth defect.”
““With my natural curls as an Afro-Dominican woman, there is a lot of pain with our hair. Our hair tells our story, it is our heritage,” says Cordero. #BombaHair #BeYou”
But rejecting that, Cordero says, and responding with confidence naturally “is a message that resonates with so many women.”
“Be Bold, Be Free, Be Bomba is a declaration that you are beautifully made,” Cordero writes. I grew up in a world where the wild curls that naturally grew from my head had a stigma attached to them. Natural hair was never celebrated nor did the mainstream media depict our Afro-curls or skin as beautiful. Bomba Curls is my love letter to women and girls everywhere who have ever been made to feel that their natural coils and kinks are somehow anything less than beautiful.”
““Be Bold, Be Free, Be Bomba is a declaration that you are beautifully made,” Cordero writes. #BeFree #NaturalGoddess @Bomba_Curls”
