Curly Cut Queen Haiya Rodriguez Offers HERcurls Hair Tips

One of the highlights of Hispanic Heritage Month for us was getting a HERCurls cut from Haiya Rodriguez herself during her ATL tour stop.

Source: Sarah Amrou / Sarah Amrou

Haiya hails from Miami and has Bolivian and Cuban parents. She spent the first half of her life as a competitive gymnast — but the creative beauty truly stuck her landing when she started styling hair. Currently based in Dallas, TX, Haiya toured a few lucky Southern cities (New Orleans, Houston, Atlanta and Miami to be exact) in September and plans to offer more tour stops in the near future.

Our Sr. Content Director, Janeé Bolden jumped at the chance to sit in Haiya’s chair for a curly cut. Janeé has been living the natural hair lifestyle confidently for over a decade now — but as most curly girls know — it can be hard finding a stylist who knows how to cut curls correctly into a stylish shape that will make a mane stand out, in a good way.

Check out our Q&A with Haiya below:

What do you enjoy most about working with curly hair?

– Playing a part in changing the trajectory of natural hair while making curl friends feel confident and empowered.

What are some curly hair myths you run into the most?

– That oils are moisturizers – Oils will not hydrate or moisturize one’s hair – it’s actually going to do the exact opposite, to explain further: oil is a lubricant, all it does is sit on hair. The shine one sees from putting oil on their hair is not hydration as it takes months and sometimes years to remove oil from the hair. It can be harmful and blocks ability to absorb water; whereas serum doesn’t.

– Avoiding cutting/trimming hair for long periods of time to gain length when it’s healthier for one to get a trim every 3/4 months so there is no breakage/split ends.

How often do you recommend for a curly cut? 

– Every 3 to 4 months

What do you think is the key to healthy curls?

– Proper knowledge from a stylist, quality products, and trust the process [stay patient].

Do you teach your HER Curls cut method?

– Not at the moment but always willing to share with passionate students.

What products do you recommend and what ingredients should people look out for in their curl products?

– I recommend what I use: Kevin Murphy, K18, and Innersense.

Look out for alcohol/butters as those products will dry your hair.

Our biggest takeaway from Haiya was to put down the drugstore products, as they cause buildup and dull the hair — but we’re also going to lay off of heat styling as much as possible!

For more on HERcurls visit the site HERE!