Meet BeautyBlazer—a L’Oréal USA Inclusive Beauty Fund Grant recipient—and KAZMALEJE co-founder LaToya Stirrup who is dedicated to designing innovative tools that transform the textured haircare experience.
As curly girls, LaToya and her two sisters LaTasha and LaTrice were all too familiar with and exhausted by long wash days, and tools that did more harm than good thanks to the breakage caused by detangling. They committed themselves to turning those pain points into opportunities for self-care by changing the way people around the world care for themselves and their hair. The sisters' mission of becoming the go-to hair tool brand for curly, coily, highly textured hair has also led them to found their KurlPartner Program where stylists can connect with other salon pros, access curl care master classes and more, as a KAZMALEJE KurlPro.
Here, learn a little bit more about the co-founder and her journey of bringing KAZMALEJE to life.
SalonCentric: What inspired you to start your brand?
LaToya Stirrup: KAZMALEJE (cos-mol-o-gy) is a company I started with my two sisters, LaTasha and LaTrice, to change the way women, men, and kids around the world care for themselves and their hair. As curly girls ourselves, we were tired of long wash days, excessive breakage while detangling our hair, and hair tools that seemed to do more harm to our hair than good. So, in 2019 we set out on a mission to help our customers transform their haircare experience by turning pain points into opportunities for self-care. Our vision is brought to life through product design, content creation, and community alignment. By designing innovative tools and accessories, such as our patent-pending, top-rated KurlsPlus Detanglers, we are able to impact our customers' in-home or in-salon experiences directly.
SC: What inspires you most about being a beauty entrepreneur?
LS: What inspires me most is knowing that we have been able to significantly improve the way our customers care for their curls. With our hair tools, we have been able to elevate their experience and eliminate pain points from their haircare routine.
SC: What are you most excited about regarding selling your product on SalonCentric's Online Exclusives one-stop-shop?
LS: Being able to connect with and sell to stylists is what excites me the most about being available on SalonCentric's Online Exclusives. Stylists are a trusted source for everyday consumers to learn about new techniques, tools, and products. We grew up going to the salon to get our hair styled and continue to have trusted relationships with our stylists today, so we know how important the relationship is between a stylist and his/her client. Having our tools used by stylists provides a key touchpoint with our consumers in a way that we are unable to as a brand.
SC: What’s next for KAZMALEJE?
LS: So many amazing things are on the horizon for us. Without going into detail, we can share that we are actively working on new products that will solve other pain points for textured hair consumers as well as exciting brand collaborations. Since we are a brand that is focused on haircare tools and accessories, we are able to partner with amazing haircare brands to create unique systems that couple our tools with their products. This is really exciting because through these partnerships, we can help guide consumers on how to best use our tools with the products they love.
SC: Tell us about the KAZMALEJE KurlPartner Program.
LS: We invite all stylists and textured hair experts to become a KAZMALEJE KurlPro by joining our KurlPartner Program. Through this platform, we are connecting with salon professionals to bring expert knowledge to our customers on how to best care for their curls and coils through master classes, IG Lives, and more. Our KurlPros are also able to take advantage of affiliate promotions, rewards, and referrals. Visit https://www.kazmaleje.com/pages/kurl-pro to learn more and sign up.
