Our NaturallyCurly + CVS Pharmacy’s Who Run the World? Curls! series for Women’s History Month 2017 features beauty industry trailblazers and their product innovations. In this exclusive interview with Theresa “Resa” B. Luster, Brand Manager at Luster Products, Inc., I ask Resa how Luster products solve for textured hair concerns, where she finds motivation, and how to be a curl boss.
Gerilyn M. Hayes: Please explain to our Naturally Curly community your professional role within your company.
Resa B. Luster: I am a Brand Manager at Luster Products, Inc. I am responsible for our Pink® Kids product line and heavily involved in the direction of the Luster’s Pink® Shea Butter Coconut Oil line. I personally feel as if my overall goal and purpose is to grow and expand the business both domestically and internationally. The truth is, working in my family’s business, I will take on any task that presents itself and complete it with enthusiasm to the best of my ability.
Coconut Oil is still Queen
Hayes: One of the top concerns in our community is how to make textured hair soft and shiny. Luster’s Pink is known for offering products that do just that for curls and coils. Will you please share specific products in your hair care and styling offerings that work best for these concerns? Is there a cocktail of products that will give our community members soft hair and that ever elusive boost of shine?
Luster: My favorite product in the Pink® Brand is our Pink Shea Butter & Coconut Oil Hair Lotion. Due to me constantly bleaching my hair blonde, it is always in need of moisture. The bleach causes my hair to become extremely dry and brittle. However, our Pink Shea Butter & Coconut Oil Hair Lotion is the best solution to rejuvenate the state of my hair. It instantly brings life back to my curls and leaves my hair super moisturized, softened and extremely well defined.
Healthy Color and Curls: Resa’s Wash and Go routine
Hayes: At Naturally Curly, we’re all about the hair! Over the years, we’ve found that many of our readers are eager to try the exact products that leaders in the space are using as their Holy Grail products. Please share your hair care maintenance and styling routine with the community, focusing on key products in the Luster’s Pink offerings that you use for impeccable curls.
Luster: My routine varies. I love hair so much I am willing to try anything from wearing it short to growing it long, protective styles, wash ’n go and straightened. Lately, I have been wearing a lot of Wash’N Go styles. It is extremely important to keep my hair well-conditioned and moisturized. I alternate shampooing and co-washing on a weekly basis.
I use our Pink Shea Butter & Coconut Oil Sulfate Free Shampoo and Moisturizing & Silkening Conditioner, or our Pink Co-Wash. While conditioning my hair, I will cocktail it with our Pink Shea Butter 10-n-1 Hot Oil Treatment. To ensure that the proper moisture foundation is retained throughout the week, I begin the layering process with our Shea Butter & Coconut Oil Leave-In Conditioner, which also serves as an AMAZING detangler. Then I apply the Apricot Oil, which promotes helps promote healthy hair growth. For the last step of my routine, I use the Moisturizing Hair Lotion to seal in the moisture.
This regimen has allowed my blonde hair to grow and retain curl definition and it keeps my hair moisturized all week long.
Inspired by Family
Hayes: Since we are participating in Women’s History Month, I am thrilled to highlight your achievements in the natural hair care space. And with every great achiever, there is a muse or source of inspiration! I would like to ask you about women in history who have inspired you. Who are they and what have you learned from them?
My grandmother Blondell Luster is a true inspiration.
Luster: My grandmother Blondell Luster is a true inspiration. She was a licensed cosmetologist. In addition to supporting my grandfather, Fred Luster Sr. in creating Luster Products, Inc. she was a successful businesswoman and beauty influencer in her own right. She showed all of her grandchildren a tremendous amount of love. She thought it was very important for her granddaughters to understand the power of beauty and find their niche within the beauty industry. Blondell believed that fashion and beauty were very important to every woman because when you look good you feel good.
Daily motivation: Life and business
Hayes: It’s been well documented that successful business women maintain positive lifestyle practices that propel them forward. Please explain a routine you’ve used in the past and/or are currently following to maintain focus and achieve your goals.
Luster: Spirituality keeps me grounded and well-focused for the many obstacles that I face on a daily basis. From the moment I awake each morning it is essential to remain positive regarding that day’s goals. I found exercising increases my ability to think level headed and remain calm in any given situation.
Hayes: As a leader in the space, what advice can you provide the aspiring entrepreneurs, inventors, makers in our Naturally Curly community that want to turn their passion for natural hair into a thriving business?
Luster: That’s simple, and I repeat this woman and girls very frequently. Follow your dreams and do not allow anyone to discourage you from achieving them. Sometimes as women we can easily be discouraged from pursuing our goals. It is essential that you believe in yourself even when all odds are against you. Your spirit is the most powerful force that can be used to push you forward through life’s challenges.
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