Robyn Atwater is the founder and CEO of the haircare brand Curldaze. Before becoming a CEO, Robyn was a well-known hair and beauty influencer until one day, she noticed that her hair was falling out. Instead of grumbling, she wanted to fix the problem because she knew a lot of the products on the market were not designed for Black women, and Curldaze was born. Now, in 2025, Curldaze will be located all over the country in almost every major retailer. It is Black Women’s History Month, so it’s only right we start with a queen who has helped fix plenty of crowns. She is our guest on the Business Exchange today.
What sets Curldaze apart?
It’s a few things that [set] Curldaze apart, the fact that our products actually work. Not [to] say that everything doesn’t work. We’re, like I said, there’s a lot of things on the market that just [are] not for our people. They’re not for us and it looks like it’s for us. The packaging looks cute and brown and looks like it’s for us, but it’s not for us, right? And so when you actually get a chance to get a hold of these products and apply them to your hair and realize they’re effective, they’re moisturizing, and they define — like I get a wow moment from a lot of people. Like, I’ve gotten testimonials like, “You know, I was real skeptic. I wasn’t sure, you know, and I used it, and I’m throwing out everything else because it actually works.”
How did you end up in the major retailers?
Yeah, you know, when things like that happen to you so fast? You know, it’s not you, right? So that’s how I feel that I’ve gotten here through my journey, like I said, I was able to meet a lot of incredible people and make great connections during that time. And so when it was time for me to launch, I knew I wanted retail. And so you kind of have to know where you want to go day one sale one, you know. And so I just reached out to people that I met along the way, you know, like, ‘Do you have any advice? You know, this is where I want to go. I don’t know anything but e-com right now. Um, what do you think I should do?’ You know? And so it was, it was those, ‘what do you think I should do?’ moments that led to being in retail. Nine months after launching, yeah, we met with CVS, and CVS took us on. So we’re grateful for CVS. We loved [them] as a partner, and target was after that, and then Walmart came a year later. So it’s been a whirlwind that’s happened very fast, and this is bigger than me, so I’m thankful for that and the angels that have been in my life.
What women have inspired you?
My mama, Deborah Bowen. She is my first inspiration. She’s one of the hardest [working] women, that hardest working woman that I know. She was the first [Black] cheerleader at Marshall University. She was a school principal, an educator her whole career, and she birthed two incredible children. She is a strong, strong, mighty woman that taught me the value of hard work. She taught me the value of never giving up and always told me that I have what it takes to do whatever I want. So she is my, my first inspiration, of course, and then in the hair care space, Madam C.J. Walker, I think is, is always the baseline of who we are all trying to be, because what she did was revolutionary, right? And we love revolutionists, and we love to be innovative and creative.
