Today we’d like to introduce you to Gina Naranjo.
Hi Gina, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started my business due to my own personal need for a clean product that actually worked. After I started to experience random hives on my face, along with body aches, I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. It’s an autoimmune disease where my immune system starts to attack my own body. There’s no one cause for RA. It could be hereditary, environmental, hormonal, and/or related to products, diet, etc. In an attempt to reduce my RA flare-ups and curb the need for medication, I started to live a healthier lifestyle by eating better and using natural products. Unfortunately, when it came to my hair care routine, I could not find natural products that worked on my thick, curly hair. At first, I started playing with ingredients and testing out formulations, eventually, I worked with two labs to help me achieve three great styling aids. Honestly, it was somewhat of a hobby at first, just to see if I could make a great product. But one day when I was in line at Sephora, a woman asked me what I used on my hair. I told her it was my own product I had made. She said, well if you were selling that product, I’d buy it for my daughter with curly hair. It was the light bulb moment and it gave me the push to start my natural haircare line, Cheeky Curls.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Entrepreneurship has not been a smooth road for me at all. In general, I think it’s definitely not for the faint of heart. My biggest struggle was giving birth to my second son at the exact same time that I was bringing Cheeky Curls into the world. The “balance” of work-life vs. home life has been one that I’m not good at. Entrepreneurship is not a 9 -5 job, it’s a 24-hour responsibility. I don’t think I understood that initially. If I knew then what I know now, I would have started the company with a business partner so that I didn’t stretch myself so thin. Although I’ve heard business partnerships also bring about their own issues…
While my passion for creating great products took the forefront at the beginning, it wasn’t too soon after that I realized the financial aspects to running a boot strapped business would give me quite a few sleep ness nights.
As you know, we’re big fans of Cheeky Curls. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I’m proud of the products we’ve created and will continue to create and the quality of ingredients we’re committed to using. Even during Covid when the supply chain was all over the place, we stayed focused on what was important. We believe in looking good outside while feeling great inside and our products are helping to achieve this. All while celebrating curl culture, something I hold dear to my heart as a curly girl from birth. I also know first hand how important it is to feel seen and heard and represented and that’s ingrained in who we are as people, creators and as a brand. We might not be as big or well-funded as some of the more established brands but I think that’s actually a good thing. We’re not tied up in red tape or bound by typical beauty industry standards. We’re doing it differently and authentically…I think if we stay true to who we are, the rest will fall into place. Some might say that’s naive but I have a massive amount of faith AND grit.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
Personalization and research on cleaner ingredients will continue to expand. I believe we’ve just hit the tip of the iceberg. I think there’s also big gains to be had in the battle against hair loss as we start to see off-label medications show some really great and promising results.
Pricing:
- Products range in price from $15 to $85
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cheekycurls.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mycheekycurls/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mycheekycurls
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/gina-naranjo2022
