(image via 50mais.)
In Brazil, a country that has the highest number of people of African descent outside of Africa, natural haircare is still somewhat revolutionary. Thanks to industrious women like Heloisa Helena Assis, the owner of salon chain Instituto Beleza Natural, more Brazilian men and women are now able to embrace, style and love their textured hair. According to Forbes,
Born to a humble family of 13 children, the former house cleaner – known in Brazil as Zica – spent years looking for a solution to tame her curly, frizzy hair. In 1993, Assis teamed with her family to create Beleza Natural, a hair salon in Rio de Janeiro, where she developed the solution she was seeking. Today, Beleza Natural employs more than 1,700 people and its own research center, thanks to the fact that about 70% of Brazil’s population has hair, just like Assis.
via.