We were lucky to catch up with Lexi P recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lexi, appreciate you joining us today. Parents play a huge role in our development as youngsters and sometimes that impact follows us into adulthood and into our lives and careers. Looking back, what’s something you think you parents did right?

People often ask me how I was able to launch my brand Curlanistas and the 1st thing I say is God and right after I have to say my parents. My mom and dad have always been my number 1 fans and mentors. I know they are totally responsible for me being the confident, ambitious teen boss I am today. My parents have always supported my brother and I, they let us be free thinkers and try out our different ideas even if its not something traditional. I think having their support and encouragement gave me the opportunity to learn what I really loved doing and what my purpose and passion is. My mom has always brought me in every board meeting, zoom call and conference to expose me to the business world. Even at the young age of 11 when I wrote my book my mom had me involved in every part of the process. Having this exposure has greatly helped me understand how to operate and thrive as a business professional. Recently I had the opportunity to lead a meeting regarding my business with Sally Beauty. My mom couldn’t join the call because of work and I felt comfortable and confident to handle things on my own because of the foundation and exposure I’ve been given, I truly thank my parents for all the exposure, they’ve always place me in the right rooms and introduced me to new things and people who have helped me along my journey.

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?

Curlanistas is a natural hair care brand. It’s also a brand centered around self-love. I launched Curlanistas in 2018 when I was 13; at that time Curlanistas was made for kids by a kid. It has all the things kids love from the yummy bubble gum and candy scent to the cute girly color of pink and it makes your hair so, so soft. Moms and Dads say their kids love it! I know what its like crying to get your hair detangled so my product is extra special because I put that extra magic in it so kids can say bye, bye to those tears and hello to poppin curls. 4 years later, I still have the original products that started it all. However, I’m a senior in high school and am expanding my hair line to grow with me. I have a body shimmer, edge control and bonnets coming soon. The same message of self-love is still a very important part of my brand. I feel like its my purpose in life.

I’m known for inspiring other girls and kids to dream big. I love visiting other schools and being featured as a guest speaker to share my journey. I’ve been a speaker with the Harvey Foundation, DTLR, Honey Shine, Girls WHo Brunch and many more amazing organizations. My why is truly inspiring others, especially girls! My mentor Ms. Paige has been very instrumental in finding my voice, I met her and worked with her organization Brown Girl Village. I told her my dream was to help girls dream big and she has supported me and guided me so much. Sharing your dream with someone can change your life.

The greatest reward is knowing I’m making a difference and am inspiring girls. I really love hearing from parents, teachers and my Curlanistas about how I helped a young girl. It just makes me feel so good knowing my brand makes a difference in this world.

It was truly a dream come true being part of the Sally Beauty Cultivate Program. I learned so much about running a brand and I honestly don’t know where my business would be today without the support from Sally Beauty. To have my Curlanista hair products on the shelves of their stores around the country feels so good. Sally Beauty has given me so many amazing opportunities to be part of the beauty industry, I’ve gotten a chance to share my message of self- love with thousands of people and it feels so good.

Being featured in Essence Magazine has to be one of my most memorable moments. Especially because both times I was featured, two women I look up to were on the cover. Michelle Obama was on one cover and Gabriel Union on the other, I was so honored. I was also featured on Good Morning America and that was really amazing too.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I saw the need to share my personal lessons about learning to love myself and wanted to help other young girls. In my first book, Curly Girls Love Your Curls, I did just that. I shared a positive message about how loving your natural hair reinforces the importance of self-esteem. I was once teased and bullied about my hair and I just wanted to help girls going through the same things. My second book the Ice Cream Talk Loving The Skin You’re expands the topic of self love even more. I want people to love themselves and love the skin their in. Colorism is a huge problem around the world.

People use to tease me and hate on me, I could have let them stop me from believing in myself instead I decided to turn my haters into my motivators.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

I’m a STEM Girl and absolutely love making products. I love playing with different ingredients to see how the skin and hair react. Right now I’m currently only manufacturing my HOT Girl Body Shimmer. Curlanistas’ Hot Girl Body Shimmer is an incredibly hydrating body shimmer cream that makes a perfect addition to a daily skincare routine. I found the absolute best shea butter and some of my secret sauce. It took me sometime to finalize the formula, I tried out different ingredients and formulas and had my friends and family try them out to find the absolute best. For my hair care products, I was making them myself however with mass production and retail standards I had to find a manufacture. My mentors Ms. Paige and Ms. Visalia introduced me to some chemist and we all sat down to have go over the ingredients I really wanted and my current formula. It was not an easy process but very worth it. Spme of the lessons I learned was to ask for what you want, dont go with the first formula, have testers and plenty of samples of the different formulas. Most importantly, dont rush and trust the process. Great products take time and did I say testing, lots of testing.

Contact Info:

• Website: curlanistas.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/curlanistas/?hl=en
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Officiallylexip
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/discover/officiallylexip?lang=en https://www.instagram.com/officiallylexip/?hl=en