CURLS Founder Mahisha Dellinger Went From Poverty To Penthouse
If you are a big fan of the OWN network, you might have seen Mahisha Dellinger's face around recently as the new host of the television show Minding Your Business with Mahisha.
Or, if you are a product junkie that indulges in the best of the best for your natural, you might be an unknowing supporter of her hair care empire, CURLS.
In fact, Mahisha built an astounding $15 million brand and owes it all to her risk-taking ambition and disadvantaged upbringing. Mahisha was willing to take chances where others saw risk and with knowledge obtained through her 9 to 5, she single-handedly paved the way for natural hair care.
The 45-year-old womanpreneur recently spoke with xoNecole about her career journey and shared the secret of how she went from poverty to penthouse.
Born in South Sacramento in an area dubbed "Danger Island" to a young single mother, it's safe to say that the cards were never dealt in Mahisha's favor. "I was my mother's second child by her second boyfriend. The first was a pimp. The second was a college educated Tuskegee University graduate who deemed her unworthy to marry," she told xoNecole.
Mahisha learned self-dependency at an early age. With her mother often working or away from home, the CURLS founder was tasked with taking full responsibility for herself at only 7 years old. "I witnessed everything from drive-bys (my home being a target on multiple occasions due to my brother's gang activity), home invasions, and murders, pimps and prostitutes… Friends pregnant by 15, while some of their brothers didn't make it to see 18. My first sexual experience wasn't by choice, [it] was by gunpoint at the age of 14. I was a young single mother destined to be another statistic."
It was then she had to make the decision to be a leader, or to be inevitably led into poverty, and the young entrepreneur refused to fall victim to the latter.
Mahisha learned that growing up on the rougher side of the tracks was as much a gift as it could have been considered a curse. In her position, she saw personally how generational cycles of poverty plagued the community, neighborhood, and even her own family. From that point, she was determined to take control of her life and break free from the cycles that surrounded her, and she knew that there was only one way to make this happen.
To her, an education was the key to unlocking that freedom. "I took control of my destiny, my legacy, [and] my kid's legacy by finishing my education," she explained.
After finishing school, Mahisha had an idea that would fill a void for curly haired naturals, women of color in particular, and would change the natural hair game forever. In 2002, CURLS was born. It was a risky move, as this was the cusp of the naturalista wave and black women embracing their natural curls hadn't yet been widely accepted as it is today. Mahisha did her due diligence, researched her market and put her extensive chemistry background to good use. As a result, she was able to benefit from launching early, long before the wave hit.
As a seasoned vet, it is common knowledge that entrepreneurship isn't all it's made to seem on social media. After almost two decades in the game, Mahisha shared a few lessons with us that she feels every entrepreneur should know before jumping into the arena. "Your chances of failure are FAR greater than succeeding [because] 80% of businesses fail by year five. Don't let Instagram fool you into thinking the grass is greener on the other side, they just used a filter," she continued. "Entrepreneurship can be extremely lonely. You will have to sacrifice fun for funds if you want to grow your business."
Although African American female-based businesses are on the rise (up 300%), only 4% make it to the million-dollar mark, which is where Mahisha's new series Mind Your Business with Mahisha comes in to lend a hand to aspiring entrepreneurs.
She is proof that where you come from doesn't determine where you're going and is committed to taking up the torch and lighting the way to bridge the gap. Mahisha might have come from poverty, but thanks to her relentless faith and determination, she and her whole family are living it up in the Penthouse.
And she's still good on any MLK Boulevard.
For more of Mahisha, follow her on Instagram.
Originally published on September 10, 2018
Danielle Smith is a Toronto-based Personal Development Junkie on the gram @youbettaglowgirl. She keeps her hands full as a Writer, Speaker, Stylist & Non-Profit Founder, all while doing her most important job as a full-time mama of one. Marching to the beat of her own drum and a playlist of her favourite 90s R&B, she's blazed a path of her own.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Why We'll Probably Never Hear Lupita Nyong'o Share Her Relationship With The World
Lupita Nyong'o is sharing a transparent look into her life after a recent breakup.
In a cover story for NET-A-PORTER, the A Quiet Place: Day One star shed light on the significant heartbreak she experienced following the end of her relationship with ex-boyfriend and TV host, Selema Masekela.
As a public figure, Nyong'o, 39, sought to divulge the news of the breakup in hopes of presenting a more authentic perspective on the pain that follows a separation.
"I was living in a lot of pain and heartbreak," she told the publication. "I looked at the environment of my social media and thought I don’t want to be a part of this illusion that everything is always coming up roses. Surely there is a lesson for me to learn in this, and I just want to be real about it."
The Black Panther star went on to explain that her choice to be transparent with her fans about her breakup came from the certainty she felt after ending the relationship. “In my mind, when I shared my relationship status with the world, it was because I felt sure about it,” she said.
While she didn’t know how the news would land with her fans, she found relief in knowing she wasn’t alone in her experience.
“I knew how it could be interpreted; I knew it would have a life of its own,” she reflects. “But then I started to see the comments and people were being so loving and supportive. The ones that moved me the most were other people sharing their pain and their heartbreak.”
Nyong'o and Masekela went Instagram official in December 2022, publicly announcing their relationship in a couple's video. In October 2023, Nyong'o took to her personal Instagram account to share the news of her breakup in her caption, writing, "At this moment, it is necessary for me to share a personal truth and publicly dissociate myself from someone I can no longer trust.”
She continued the vulnerable note, "I find myself in a season of heartbreak because of a love suddenly and devastatingly extinguished by deception. I am tempted to run into the shadows and hide, only to return to the light when I have regained my strength enough for me to say, 'Whatever, my life is better this way.' But I am reminded that the magnitude of the pain I am feeling is equal to the measure of my capacity for love."
These days, Nyong'o tells NET-A-PORTER that she is prioritizing profound self-discovery that extends beyond her career. She notes having a deliberate and unhurried approach to understanding herself.
She also alludes to keeping her relationships private moving forward after noting it was "very, very sage" of her not to talk about her private life professionally in the days before her last relationship. "I'm going back to those days by the way," Nyong'o shares of her reinstated boundaries around her personal life.
Earlier this month, Nyong'o made headlines alongside her new boyfriend actor Joshua Jackson. Nyong'o and Jackson went through public splits from their respective SOs in October 2023, with the latter splitting from his long-time partner Jodie Turner-Smith following her divorce filing from the Dawson's Creek alum.
The pair have been spotted together as early as December 2023, but nothing screamed "couple" quite as loudly as their recent getaway to Mexico for Nyong'o's 41st birthday featuring passionate displays of affection.
"Our purpose in life is to love. And so you have to get back in it," she tells the outlet, seemingly alluding to her budding new romance.
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Featured image by Taylor Hill/Getty Images