Community Highlights: Meet Cindy Perez Rivas of Ritual Studio Salon

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cindy Perez Rivas.

Hi Cindy, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m a hairstylist based in Oxnard, California, and this community is truly where my heart is. I trained at Vidal Sassoon in Santa Monica, graduating top of my class, and that experience ignited a deep passion and commitment to the craft that has never left me. After graduating, I moved to Chicago to continue my education and training, fully immersing myself in the industry.
Life brought me back home when my father became ill, and while that was a difficult time, returning to Oxnard turned out to be one of the most meaningful decisions of my life. I continued working behind the chair and began educating for SR Education under the mentorship of Sally Rogerson, a creative director from Sassoon. I also worked as a paid educator for Paul Mitchell, teaching cosmetology students while maintaining my own clientele.
What’s always set me apart isn’t just the technical skill — it’s the connection. I was an outspoken, talkative kid, and while some things wouldn’t stick in my head, people’s stories always did. Remembering the specific details of a client’s life, the things others might let slip by, has been at the heart of my success behind the chair.
Growing up in Oxnard, I was also deep in the alternative scene — using fashion and hair as pure self-expression. Being artistic has always been part of who I am, and getting to bring that creativity to my community every day is something I don’t take for granted.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road has definitely not been smooth. I had a very clear vision of where my career would take me — I saw myself in a big city, fully immersed in the creative side of the industry, pushing to see just how far my talent could go. When life took me in a different direction, it was genuinely hard to come to terms with. Letting go of that picture I had for myself took time.
Coming back to Oxnard also came with its own challenges — feeling like a different kind of fish in a familiar pond, someone who had gone out, experienced something bigger, and was rediscovering where she fit back home.
Covid forced me to renavigate everything at once — being a mother, a stylist, a creative, and an independent business owner. Out of that period I opened my salon
, which meant asking myself what kind of leader and mentor I wanted to be, and then doing the hard work of becoming that person.
Entrepreneurship felt natural because of who raised me. My dad was truly ahead of his time — a hardworking, self-made man whose work was his joy. He was the kind of business owner who gave everything, seven days a week. I didn’t quite match his temperament, but the spirit was absolutely in me. What’s been interesting is that I ended up owning a business back in the very town I had spent most of my career trying to grow beyond — and there’s something poetic about that.
Where my dad poured himself entirely into his work, I’ve had to learn how to be fully present in each role — mother, stylist, creative, business owner — without losing myself in any one of them. Splitting yourself across all of those is genuinely hard. But understanding that every single one of them matters has been its own kind of lesson.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m the owner of Ritual Studio Salon
a locally owned salon in Oxnard specializing in precision cutting and color with a strong emphasis on natural products and sustainability. Being locally owned and rooted in this community isn’t just a business detail — it’s part of my identity. I’m a generational Oxnard native, a Mexican Chicana, and serving this community from within this community means everything to me.
My foundation is built on precision. I trained at Vidal Sassoon, and that technical excellence has always been the backbone of my work. But what sets me apart goes beyond the chair. I approach every client with intention — from the products I choose to the conversations we have. I believe hair care should be conscious, both for the health of your hair and the health of the planet.
Community giveback is a core part of who we are. We’ve hosted youth fairs, supported immigration causes, and shown up for the people around us — because as a first generation Mexican Chicana, I know firsthand what it means to need your community to show up for you.
But more than anything, I want to set the tone for anyone who looks like me. I want to be proof of what’s possible — a reflection of all the good this community holds and a reminder that there is a seat at the table for us. This salon was shaped by my upbringing, by the people who raised me, and by everything Oxnard gave me. It’s my way of giving that back.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Ritualstudiosalon.com
• Instagram: Cindydoeshair /ritualstudiosalon
• Facebook: Ritualstudiosalon