We were lucky to catch up with Haiya Rodriguez recently and have shared our conversation below.

Haiya, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

It’s my initials! :D Haiya E. Rodríguez – When my career with curly hair started i had no idea what it would become so as i began to see the fast growth i thought to myself “well i guess i better give it a name” haha
As a kid i always thought it was so cool my initials spelled HER so i thought, how fitting since the majority of my clients are women. That’s when HERcurls came to life! But don’t get it twisted, we love and welcome all genders. HERcurls is a safe space for everyone.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hello, I’m Haiya Rodríguez. I am an ex- elite gymnast of 15 yrs and when i decided to transition from gymnastics to adult hood i decided to go to cosmetology school. I loved it from the first day i attended :) My mom hated this for me (lol) especially because she migrated from from Bolivia to the U.S and the American dream was the goal. My against the grain attitude and discipline (learned from gymnastics) really pushed me to think outside of the box and therefore i knew there was another way to become successful. I started working in a “high end” salon after graduating school and was turned off by the drama and “cattiness” culture of it all and quit hair all together. Fast forward 4/5yrs later when decided to focus on hair again- maturity and timing was the trick. I walked into unique a salon one day and knew that this was my time. This experience showed me salon culture could be better so i decided to find one that was aligned with me. I found it the next week! Started assisting and quickly grew into growing my own clientele. A curly girl sat in my chair one day soon after, BOOM! The rest was history… All the Dallas and surrounding curlfriends were in my chair. Over time i developed my own technique, everything was self taught as far as curly hair. I realized this was a niche for me and something i have always been passionate about. And continue to be. Seeing the evolution in the past 8yrs has been incredible. I now cut, color and educate my clients and stylist how to properly take care of their curly hair so they can embrace, love and wear with confidence. I opened my salon/studio about 3 1/2 years ago. My studio is a vibe, it embraces the beauty of diversity. I always wanted to create a space that didn’t feel like a stuffy salon but still elevated. The feel of my salon is creative, natural and unique. Feels like if a NY loft and a tropical jungle had a baby. I guarantee you won’t want to leave, come see for yourself! Check us out at @gethaiya @hercurls.studio or HERcurls.com

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I think CONSISTENT excellent work is the main factor. Secondly, creating a space where your guest feel comfortable and safe. It starts from the booking process, then the actual appointment, the education/knowledge and lastly the impact each guests feels when they experience the transformation.

How did you build your audience on social media?

I would say just be authentic and don’t over think it. I’m guilty of this at times and when i just throw something up on the socials without over thinking it does amazing vs when i think too much. Showcase what you want your audience to see so that you can build off that. For me 8 years ago before/after photos worked beautifully but now it’s turned into videos. Pay attention to your audience and engage!

Contact Info:

• Website: HERcurls.com
• Instagram: @Gethaiya @hercurls.studio
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/HerCurls/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haiyarodriguez?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
• Other: TikTok- @hercurls.studio