With brand-building prowess that’s propeled such brands as Uber and Away, BABBA RIVERA returns to her roots with the launch of Ceremonia, a clean haircare label inspired by the Latinx traditions she was taught as a child.

photography by ALEC KUGLER

MINI | We are so inspired by your beautiful brand, Ceremonia! Can you tell us how the brand came to be?

BABBA RIVERA | In many ways, I feel as if every part of my journey was a stepping stone in getting me to where I am today to bring Ceremonia to life. As the daughter of a Chilean hairdresser, I learned from an early age to love and appreciate beauty rituals as a form of self-care. Furthermore, growing up with my mom and aunt who are two beauty queens themselves, I learned the healing powers of natural plants and fruits long before it was considered cool. Later on in my teenage years, I lost track of the relationship to beauty I was taught at home, and embarked on a journey of trying to change and mask who I was. After decades of coloring, straightening, and constantly damaging my hair, I started to question the beauty standards presented by the industry. Despite the fact that people like me, of the Hispanic and Latinx demographic, account for nearly 20% of the US population and hold among the strongest spending power within beauty (spending 46% more on hair care products than non-Hispanics do), the category is still not reflecting this reality. Not only are we not represented in marketing, we are also not represented as owners, founders, and executives in this category, despite being the biggest spenders.

Throughout my entire career, I’ve been extremely passionate about challenging the status quo, building unicorn brands such as Uber and Away and being the first woman to enter many rooms. This passion has now been translated to an even stronger mission— to reimagine the hair care aisle with a wellness approach to hair, while authentically representing and celebrating the richness of the Latinx culture.

Creating an iconic brand with

global appeal that celebrates my culture has an incredibly deep meaning to me. For so many years, I felt ashamed of my background, and through this journey, I’m not only finding my way back to my own roots, but I’m also hoping to help others see the beauty in our culture, too. We tap into the many powerful fruits and plants native to the Latin American region, and push the boundaries for what clean hair care can be. Replacing common toxic filler ingredients with natural ones, mixed with science-backed ingredients to generate real results in a clean and sustainable way. Ceremonia is all about instilling a confident natural, tackling the root issue of our hair woes for real transformation. No more quickfixes or masking for the day—say hola to a new generation of hair wellness.

MINI | How has the brand evolved since it began and where do you hope to see it go?

BABBA RIVERA | We started with a single hero product and have since grown the line into a full routine with shampoo and conditioner, hair mask, styling products, scalp care, and more. The most exciting part of this development is that we have been able to grow the line with the input of our community, serving their real needs and preferences while continuing to push the boundaries for what clean hair care can be. In the future, I see us serving a wider range of beauty needs, as our approach to hair care translates to many other areas of beau-

BABBA ON THE CLOCK

KIDS BOOK The Story of Babar by

Jean de Brunhoff ($13; amazon.com)

KIDS MOVIE “Encanto!”

NOW WATCHING “WeCrashed and Euphoria.”

NOW PLAYING “Swedish artist Lisa Ekdahl.”

GUILTY PLEASURE

“All things desserts.”

KIDS SHOPS “Little Mooney in Nolita has such a cute curation of indie brands!”

COFFEE ORDER “I love an oat milk hot chocolate.”

FAVE RESTAURANT “Colonie in Brooklyn Heights.” 127 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, NY

ty as well. Focusing on high-performance formulas powered by natural ingredients, combined with our Latinx heritage makes for an interesting and big future for us. This is just the beginning for Ceremonia.

MINI | With Ceremonia as a clean beauty brand, can you detail your own daily clean beauty routine?

BABBA RIVERA | I am a big fan of serums! I love investing in my skin and spend more time on skincare than I do on makeup. I love Tata Harper, which is also what I am currently using as I am expecting my second baby and the products are not only high-performance but also pregnancy safe. I love the Illuminating Eye Serum, which functions as a highlighter and eye cream in one, and the Resurfacing Serum. I enjoy layering serums, usually starting with the more lightweight, jelly-viscosity ones, and then adding the richer ones. I then seal the serums with a face oil— some favorites include the Moringaia Face Oil, as well as Vintner’s Daughter’s iconic face oil.

When it comes to makeup, I love Saie Beauty’s Glowy Super Gel, mixed with their tinted moisturizer, Westman Atelier’s blush in Petal, Ami Cole’s mascara, and Merit’s brow gel and lip glosses.

As for my own hair, I use the Ceremonia Leave-in Conditioner to tame baby hairs and frizz, as well as to seal dry ends. During the dry winter months, I also love to end my routine with the Oil Mist con Aloe Vera to seal the hydration and boost shine. For days when I am on the go and don’t have time to wash my hair, I use the Açai Style Refresher to revive my hair and infuse it with our signature scent. Once a week, I reset my scalp and hair with our Sunday Reset Duo, featuring a Papaya Scalp Scrub for deep cleanse and Deep Conditioning Mask for silky strands. This duo is a new favorite! It truly feels like a spa moment at home! The night before washing my hair with this duo, I usually apply Aceite de Moska before going to bed and leave the scalp oil on during the night to help balance and restore my scalp, and increase hair strength.

MINI | What has been the greatest lesson you’ve learned in business thus far?

BABBA RIVERA | That persistence and determination is key. As a founder, especially as a sole founder, you’ll have many moments of doubt and countless setbacks. Being confident enough to keep pushing with persistence and determination is the only way forward and what will ultimately set you apart from the rest.

MINI | We love to ask— What do you think about the idea of “having it all?”

BABBA RIVERA | I think you can have it all, but not all at once. Having a family and a career at the same time is not impossible, but having that and a thriving social life, restful vacations, ambitious wellness goals, and perfectly home cooked meals all at once is not realistic. I’ve found that in order to be successful in some areas others

have to give. For me right now, the focus is family and work, and as such, other things have had to take the backseat.

MINI | What advice would you give to moms looking to start their own brand?

BABBA RIVERA | To make sure you do it in a way that brings you joy. We are most successful when we operate from a place of joy, and with motherhood, you will always be competing against time with your children, which puts more pressure on work having to be a source of joy.

MINI | Let’s dive into your life as a soonto-be mom of two! What do you think is the greatest challenge of motherhood?

BABBA RIVERA | Time! We are constantly competing against the hours of the day, and somehow there are just never enough of them. Having two kids will not make that equation easier, that is for sure.

MINI | What is most important to you in raising your children?

BABBA RIVERA | To fill them with unconditional love and confidence. I want my children to feel so immensely loved and special.

MINI | We all experience mom guilt from time to time. When do you find mom guilt creeps in and how do you deal with it?

M I N I92 s p r i n g ‘22

BABBA RIVERA | It creeps up all the time and makes it really hard to prioritize things for oneself, but my husband is great at reminding me of putting my own oxygen mask on first and encourages me to carve out time for myself and the things that fill my cup.

MINI | Let’s talk pregnancy! How has this pregnancy been different from your first?

BABBA RIVERA | This pregnancy has felt very different, mainly because of the fact that I don’t have as much space to rest now that I also have a toddler running around. With my first pregnancy, I was able to work out almost every day and felt very energetic, whereas with this pregnancy, I am feeling increasingly tired. I have now started to carve out 30 to 60 minute breaks during the day for naps and mediation which has been super helpful.

MINI | How are you dressing the bump this season? What are you living in right now?

BABBA RIVERA | The best part about having done this quite recently is that I still have many pieces I wore during my first pregnancy that I can recycle. I also learned a lot about pregnancy dressing my first time around, and I have been much more comfortable knowing what works and what doesn’t this time. For example, with my first pregnancy I made the mistake of ordering big loose dresses that would fit a growing belly, without thinking about

what that would do to my overall body shape. I’ve found that for my body type it works much better to embrace the belly through tight knitted dresses. The rule of thumb for me now is that I don’t want to hide behind a tent, but rather embrace parts of my body, whether it’s a leg moment, an open neck, or a tight fit to embrace my full figure.

MINI | Has your personal style changed at all since becoming a mom?

BABBA RIVERA | The only real change I saw was an increased desire to wear denim after giving birth. After so many months of not fitting into any pants or denims, I started to crave simple dressing like high-rise denim with a crisp white shirt and a heel!

MINI | Can you tell us how you decided on your daughter’s name? How is the name game going this time around?

BABBA RIVERA | We wanted a name that would work in both Spanish and Swedish, as that’s where our roots are, but simultaneously wanted it to be easy to spell and pronounce in English as well. Alma felt like a match made in heaven, it’s an old name in both Sweden and Chile, and means soul in Spanish which felt so special.

MINI | What do you love and look forward to about raising your kids in NYC?

BABBA RIVERA | The diversity! I really look forward to them emerging themselves with many different cultures and taking them on adventures that help them broaden their perspective.