Meet, Lulu Cordero. The Dominican founder and CEO of Bomba Curls, a vegan, cruelty-free, and toxin-free hair care line. Before launching her successful natural beauty company, Cordero’s experience with traction alopecia empowered her to seek out different formulations to treat her roots and curls. This is when she realized there weren’t many brands nor ingredients on the market that catered to her specifics hair woes or wants. She experienced a lightbulb moment and turned to her Caribbean roots. Cordero began mixing, testing, trying an array of blends of butters and oils together, also known as DIY hair masks. As a former pre-medical student, the science behind combining formulations came naturally to Cordero. After witness #hairgoals results, the native New Yorker began to dream up the idea of sharing her magic in a bottle with the world. “My pre-med background allocates creating clean, natural, yet effective products that deliver fantastic results. Being able to provide our communities with healthier options is when it comes to the products they use on themselves and their family is a dream come true,” says Cordero.

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“I started Bomba Curls with a dollar and a dream. I set out to celebrate the very roots that society placed a stigma on and empower others to do the same. My natural hair journey was also not the smoothest,” explains Cordero. What began as a personal hair crisis turned into a successful hair business and community which celebrates Black, Latinx, and Afro-Latinx natural textures. Since beginning Bomba Curls, Cordero has launched a hydrating hair oil, luxurious deep conditioning treatment, and beauty vitamins. Keep reading to learn more about her entrepreneurial journey and how she’s transforming the market one beauty buy at a time.

Growing up with Natural Hair

Interestingly enough, neither my mother nor grandmother ever relaxed my hair. I believe my mother knew how to take care of natural textures and style my hair in various natural hairstyles, from braids to twists. When I came to the United States, my mom initially stayed behind in the Dominican Republic. Unfortunately, my family in the states had no clue on how to style my coils. Their solution was to send me off to the Dominican salon, and I experienced my first chemical relaxer. My mother disapproved because she has always empowered me to embrace my natural texture. After that incident, I was responsible for styling and caring for my hair.

Natural Hair Journey

In 2004, I began transitioning from chemically treated relaxed hair to embracing my natural texture. I wanted to live a cleaner, greener lifestyle which naturally meant letting go of processed strands. I would always wear my hair in tight, pulled-back buns, which lead to traction alopecia. My mom, thankfully, was able to give me more guidance on techniques and natural remedies I could use to help ease my journey. Her tips helped lay the groundwork for the Bomba Curls.

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Launching Bomba Curls

I experienced traction alopecia because I didn’t quite know how to manage my natural hair – which led me to create my formulas. Bomba Curls allows me to prevent others from experiencing a lot of those same difficulties and making embracing natural hair easy. I launched Bomba Curls in 2019, with Forbidden Oil, $22, clean organic ingredients which promote hair growth. We’re grown tremendously in just over a year and have become a recognized brand in the Afro-Latinx communities inspiring women to embrace their kinky, coily hair. Nordstrom took notice and asked Bomba Curls to be one of the first brands to launch with their new Inclusive Beauty Expansion.

Ingredients Count

The Forbidden Oil is our top-seller, hands down. Our not only is infused with coffee seed and rosemary to promote healthy hair and works wonders to soothe the scalp. It’s a multipurpose product, so our customers also love using it as a pre-poo, gloss serum, and even on their body. Another fan favorite is our award-winning Forbidden Hair Mask which you can now pre-order and packed with cinnamon, pistachio oil, turmeric, and cupuaco butter. This luxurious mask serves as a deep conditioning treatment as it restores curl elasticity, moisture, and shine.

Beauty Vitamins

I’m a firm believer, that beauty starts from the inside out. We have to make sure that our bodies are receiving an adequate supply of vitamins and minerals because any nutritional deficiencies can start to show up physically. It’s important because if not, nails can become brittle, skin looks dull, and hair is weak, or you experience stagnant growth. That’s where Bomba Curls Beauty Bites, $20, come in as the gummies contain the perfect blend of biotin, folic acid, and essential vitamins. It helps support healthy hair growth, radiant skin, stronger nails, and support your immune system.

Afro-Latina in Beauty

It has not been easy, and interestingly enough. We initially received some flack from our non-Afro-Latino, Latinx counterparts for being so bold as to celebrate the beauty of our African heritage. A young lady went as far as writing to us to say that we should not do so as it was “divisive.” Instead, it’s motivated me, even more, to continue fighting for representation within the beauty space.

Dominican Influence

In the Dominican Republic, hair care is so essential for us. You’ll find ingredients like cinnamon & coffee used for hair care- which is often underused or simply not applied to hair care formulas in the US. I wanted to capture the magic of those ingredients and share them with the world through our products.