For thousands of Black women across the country, the brightly colored boxes brought the giddy joy of Christmas morning when they landed on their doorsteps.
CURLBOX, a monthly subscription service that delivered full-sized products for naturally curly hair, developed a fervent following since its founding in 2012. Each month, CURLBOX opened a brief window for customers to sign up for the next box, and fans set alarms to make sure they got on the list. Customers didn’t know exactly what products they were going to receive, but the mystery was part of the allure.
Late last month, after 11 years, Atlanta-based CURLBOX closed its doors.
While the news of CURLBOX’s closing surprised many of its fans, Myleik Teele, the company’s founder, said she believed now was the right time to step away.
“After running the company independently for 11 years, I have achieved all that I can on my own,” Teele told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Following the pandemic, the company would be better off under the umbrella of a larger corporation with access to the latest e-commerce technology and a more comprehensive beauty portfolio to offer a complete beauty experience.”
Credit: Special
Credit: Special
But for now, Teele still owns CURLBOX.
“I’m not saying I won’t sell the business, I’m not saying that. It ain’t sold, though. I still own it,” she said in a recent Instagram Live.
Building CURLBOX
Teele launched her company less than three years after moving from Los Angeles to Atlanta. She’d previously worked in public relations and as an assistant to former “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star Kim Zolciak, appearing on Season 2 of the reality show.
Teele started CURLBOX because she saw how many Black women lacked access and options to products that took care of their hair.
“Subscriptions became essential as it was challenging to find suitable products, especially for those living in rural areas or small college towns,” Teele said.
Inside each monthly parcel, customers found products like sulfate-free shampoos, leave-in conditioners, detangling brushes and silk hair scarves carefully wrapped in delicate tissue paper. The boxes cost $25 a month, plus tax and shipping.
Starting a company is a leap of faith, but Atlanta provided a softer landing spot for Teele.
“I had everything I needed to launch my business right in my backyard. Being a young Black woman didn’t limit my access to resources and opportunities in Atlanta,” she said.
CURLBOX grew quickly from a startup to an established presence in the textured hair industry. The company highlighted upstart brands and also worked with major corporations like L’Oreal, Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Ulta, Target and Walmart.
But CURLBOX didn’t just send products. Teele also produced editorial photo shoots, mini-magazines and YouTube videos for the boxes. That celebration of Black women’s natural hair and beauty helped build customer trust in her curation.
“She innovated the subscription space for us in a way that was so exciting, by involving influencers, by having photoshoots, by having themed boxes,” said Patrice Yursik, founder of afrobella.com, one of the first blogs dedicated to Black women’s hair care and beauty.
And while building CURLBOX, Teele also built a devoted community. The year before she started the company, she launched a podcast to share her hard-fought life lessons, MyTaughtYou (now called Myleik Teele’s Podcast). She amassed 216,000 followers on Instagram and has continued to create community through her social media and an online space for mothers, Myleik + Mommas.
CURLBOX opened doors
Teele started CURLBOX at a time when many Black women had trouble finding hair care products because few stores stocked them.
But CURLBOX changed that. Now, Black women could get multiple full-sized hair products delivered straight to their door and they could try brands they might not have known before.
For brands, CURLBOX provided a launching pad. When Monique Rodriguez, founder and CEO of Mielle Organics, first met Teele about seven years ago, her business was a startup. Yet Teele gave her a chance, including Mielle in one month’s box. That inclusion gave the company “credibility in the natural hair community,” Rodriguez said.
Teele and Rodriguez continued their partnership and as Mielle grew, the brand eventually did exclusive product launches with CURLBOX, which often set the tone for how a wider roll-out of that product would go in the textured hair world.
“[CURLBOX] gave us a voice and a platform to be able to connect with our consumers on a different level,” Rodriguez said.
Mielle is no longer a startup — its products are available in stores nationwide. And in January, the company joined P&G Beauty and is now an independent subsidiary of the multinational health and beauty conglomerate. But the brand continued to be featured in CURLBOX, as recently as May.
But Mielle’s growth and success also point to the changing consumer patterns that informed why Teele closed CURLBOX’s doors.
“When I first established this company, we provided customers with a rare opportunity to try out entire collections of textured hair products,” Teele said. “Now, you can easily find suitable products in any store.”
As for what’s next, Teele is taking a moment to catch her breath.
“During my time off, I plan to explore the infinite possibilities that life offers, learn new skills, volunteer at my children’s schools, reconnect with old acquaintances, forge new friendships, complete the book that I promised my agent over a year ago, and ensure that I am well-rested and prepared once I return to work.”
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