Yelitsa Jean-Charles didn’t love her natural hair growing up. She’s not alone: 4 in 10 girls don’t love their curls, according to a Dove study.
So at age 20, she founded her own doll company, Healthy Roots Dolls, to create dolls with hair like hers.
“I wanted to make sure other little girls didn’t feel the way that I did about my hair growing up and that meant designing dolls that had different facial features, hair textures and skin tones to be the diversity that I didn’t see,” she said.
Since launching in 2019, the company has won several awards, sold out three times online and can be found in stores like Target.
“It makes me feel emotional knowing that change is happening and that I’m contributing positively to the world that I need to see,” she said. “I’m seeing girls falling in love with their hair, falling in love with what they look like and just like feeling beautiful and confident.”
Watch how little girls care for their “Curlfriends” in the video above. Learn more about Healthy Roots Dolls here.
