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When Monique Rodriguez founded Mielle Organics in 2014, she set out to create effective haircare, skincare, and body care products that didn’t break the bank. Today, her brand’s become one to watch for its healthy ingredients and wide-ranging products—plus its viral rosemary hair 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!
How did you get the idea to found Mielle Organics?
I founded Mielle Organics because I’ve 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—but 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’s 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’s 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’s 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’t 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.
Monique Rodriguez
Your Rosemary Mint Scalp & Hair Strengthening Oil went especially viral online. What was that experience like—how did you realize it was becoming so popular?
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—so 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’s on Tiktok. She’s like, “Hey, this influencer who’s very popular, she’s using your product.” I was like, “Oh, that’s pretty cool.” The next thing I know, it just had this moment. It’s a, “Oh, wow, pinch me” 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’ve come, and that people were loving a product that I created.
Mielle Organics Rosemary Mint scalp & hair strengthening oil
Why do you think so many people reacted so strongly—and are paying so much attention to—this particular product?
I think it garnered a lot of attention because it works! A lot of women may suffer from different hair issues, and they’re looking for solutions to combat whatever problems they’re 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—so 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’s what created this viral moment.
Monique Rodriguez
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?
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’s beneficial. I’m also looking other categories to see what’s trending, and I’m also interested in what’s trending in other countries. I’m really obsessed with what the process is with other countries and cultures and what they’re 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’s say the ingredient is used in skincare, but if we transfer it over to hair care, it’s 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.
Mielle Organics Rosemary Mint collection
It’s party season! When it comes to getting ready for a holiday party, what are your tip tips for having perfect party-ready hair?
Make sure that you have a very consistent hair routine. Washing your hair on a consistent basis, whether it’s every two weeks or every week, having a very good deep conditioning regimen, making sure that you’re 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’re 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’t damage your hair. It’s really about the maintenance, washing, deep conditioning, using the heat protective [products] if you use heat—or if not, making sure that your curls are well hydrated and moisturized.
Monique Rodriguez
When you’re traveling, what are 3 beauty essentials you always have in your bag?
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!
Are there any special items or experiences on the top of your holiday wishlist this year?
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
Monique Rodriguez
What projects are you working on for the future? Anything you can tell us on what’s on your docket in 2025?
We’re 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’re going to expand into new categories. I think about skin care, and not just being a brand that focuses on haircare—but 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’s coming out that talks about how Mielle was founded 10 years ago. For me, that’s my gift to my community—to uplift, inspire and just motivate people to do the best version of themselves, because everyone can always see the glory in their own story.
Monique Rodriguez
All images: Courtesy of Mielle Organics
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