A Dominican Salon Specializing In Natural Hair Is Redefining Beauty On The Island

Like many women who decide to go natural, Carolina Contreras (raised between the Dominican Republic and the U.S.) set out on a personal hair journey that required unlearning and relearning everything about her once chemically straightened hair.

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Contreras subsequently opened up a natural hair salon in the capital city of Santo Domingo. The salon’s mantra “Yo amo mi pajón,” or “I Love my big, or kinky hair,” is meant to advocate for women with Afro-textured hair.

“I would walk down the street and women would stop me and ask me how I got my hair like that,” said Contreras to New York Times writer, Sandra E. Garcia.

True to the millennial way, Contreras even blogged about her learning process. “There were many blogs in English but not many in Spanish,” she said about a personal website that gained considerable popularity and played a key role in the salon’s debut.

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Contreras used a majority of her savings, donations from friends and a benefaction of $10,000 through an Indiegogo campaign to open Miss Rizos Salon.

For those traveling to the Caribbean nation, make sure to book an appointment with Miss Rizos.