“Pelo malo”, or “bad hair”, is a term used in various Latin American communities to refer to hair that is curly and “hard to manage”.
However, Magdaline Hurtado knows that hair types like her own aren’t more “difficult”, they are just not catered to. After a particularly hot day in the Dominican Republic, Hurtado experienced the lightbulb moment to launch her brand Hello Updo, a hair accessories brand specialising in products designed for voluminous hair with varied curl patterns.
Inside Retail connected with Hurtado to learn more about how Hello Updo fills a white space in the haircare market, how her brand honored Hispanic Heritage Month and her dream of creating a world where every hair type has its rightful place in beauty.
Inside Retail: What inspired you to launch Hello Updo?
Magdalene Hurtado: My journey to Hello Updo began with a moment of frustration over the lack of hair ties that could handle my full head of curls.
One really hot July day in the Dominican Republic, I snapped through multiple elastic hair ties while just trying to get my hair out of my face. I questioned why there weren’t hair ties for textured, fuller hair. This thought followed me as I returned home that summer. Within hours of being home, I borrowed a sewing machine from my Abuela [the Spanish word for grandmother] and created the first Flora silk scrunchie in Biggish, now the flagship size of Hello Updo.
This journey is also deeply personal. Growing up, my natural hair felt like a burden, and I internalised the painful stereotype of having “pelo malo”. By age eight, I’d started relaxers, which quickly led to breakage and hair loss. My last relaxer was for my quinceañera [a 15th birthday celebration in many Latin American cultures], where I made a vow to embrace my natural curls and years of patience brought me back a head of healthy curls.
Today, Hello Updo isn’t just about hair accessories — it’s about challenging beauty standards, protecting hair, and honouring each unique hair journey. I’m driven to dismantle harmful narratives and create a world where every hair type has its rightful place in beauty because all hair is good hair.
IR: How did you come up with the ideas for the brand’s initial SKUs? What type of products do you hope to produce next?
MH: Our first SKU was the Flora scrunchie in Biggish, a direct response to my own struggle to keep my big, textured hair up without breaking it. I wanted a simple and reliable quality solution. Period. We then created the Flora in Smallish to accommodate more hair textures and types.
At launch, our community responded incredibly well, inspiring me to expand on what we call our “New Way to Updo” formula — combining 100 per cent silk and inclusive sizing. Building on this, we introduced our headscarves and award-winning bonnets, both available in Biggish and Smallish sizes to meet the diverse needs of our customers’ hair.
Every product we create, and will create, is designed to support our customers’ hair care routines, offering gentle, high-quality options that help protect styles and prolong the results of their hard work.
IR: In what ways do you believe Hello Updo fills a white space in the haircare market?
MH: Hello Updo fills a white space in the haircare market by addressing the lack of hair accessories designed to prioritise hair health for all textures.
Hello Updo confronts this gap by creating texture-inclusive silk accessories specifically engineered to support hair health. By focusing on quality materials and inclusive sizing, we offer products that truly cater to diverse hair types, allowing people to style their hair confidently and comfortably, without compromising its health.
IR: Since launching in 2019, what have been some of the biggest ups and downs you’ve experienced along the way?
MH: Since launching, we’ve had the incredible honour of being featured by outlets like Forbes, Inc, Byrdie, Refinery29 and Popsugar among several others. We’ve also partnered with major haircare brands like Garnier and Dove for influencer marketing campaigns. These moments validate the work we’re doing and open exciting doors for us.
However, promotion can only go so far. Funding has been a significant challenge to sustain the brand and keep our doors open. With the need for inventory to sell to retailers, it can be tough accessing that capital. To navigate this, we’ve focused on cultivating small yet impactful retail partnerships, including professional salons and specialty retailers, to ensure sustainable growth.
When we landed Urban Outfitters this year, we were absolutely thrilled — not only because it marked a significant milestone for our brand but also because I knew 15-year-old Magdaline would have been over the moon! Yet, with this excitement also came concern about fulfilling the order. I used some personal savings, and a family member stepped in with a small investment to help fulfill the first order. Thankfully, the revenue generated from that order allowed us to fund the subsequent ones.
IR: September 15 to October 15 marks National Hispanic Heritage Month. What retail tactics, from social media marketing to sales promotions, does Hello Updo tap into during this month?
MH: This Hispanic Heritage Month, we’re celebrating our heritage with our “pelo bueno” social media campaign, a tribute to the beauty of hair in all its forms.
Pelo bueno honours diverse hair textures and actively challenges the harmful “pelo malo” narrative that persists in the Dominican Republic, where my roots are from, and beyond. We have reached over 40,000 views on socials alone which has boosted our sales this month.
Unlike many brands, we did not offer a sale on our products. We decided to donate 15 percent of our profits from September 15 to October 15 to a girls’ orphanage in the Dominican Republic that provides safe housing, education, health services and emotional support.
We are proud to take this big moment to support these young girls during their developmental ages. Between 8-15, they begin to discover their voices and themselves — a driving factor to this is their introduction to beauty and what industries say is beautiful. We are empowering them to embrace their own beauty.
IR: What are the ways the retail industry at large can be more sustainably supportive for Latinx/Hispanic-owned brands?
MH: Retail is changing. It is getting harder and harder to land a retail account, either on-shelf or online, and even more so for Black and Brown-women-owned brands. However, the opportunity based on Black and Brown women spending is getting greater.
I think there is a great opportunity for retailers to continuously tap Latinx/Hispanic-owned brands throughout the year and not just for Hispanic Heritage Month. While DEI is being pushed out of the door by many corporations, consumers are still spending their money where they feel represented.
The post How accessories brand Hello Updo is challenging traditional beauty standards appeared first on Inside Retail Australia.
