Black dolls with authentic curly hair

Yelitsa Jean-Charles is the founder and CEO of Healthy Roots Dolls, a toy company that manufactures Black and brown dolls with unique facial features, various skin tones, and authentic curly hair that can be styled to the user’s preference. Yelitsa aims to use toys to teach Black children about the beauty of their natural hair and to encourage them to embrace it.
Yelitsa said she wasn’t very confident with her natural hair while she was growing up. Due to her excessive use of chemical treatments, she ended up having damaged hair. Upon coming to love herself, she realized that she wanted to help the new generation of young Black girls learn to appreciate their own beautiful features. The inspiration to create dolls that resembled them is what drove her.
For a class project in college, Yelitsa, a graduate of the Rhode Island School Of Design with a BFA in Illustration and a concentration in Race and Gender, designed a doll inspired by Rapunzel as a Black girl with beautiful kinky hair.
She worked on developing the doll and raising capital through a Kickstarter campaign for nearly 5 years. In 2019, Yelitsa was finally able to launch her company officially, thanks to a grant she had received.
Healthy Roots Dolls now features 4 dolls with unique facial features, skin tones, and natural hair that can be washed, detangled, and styled. In addition to dolls, they provide books that act as illustrated guides to create natural hairstyles.
She told Women’s Health Magazine that her whole purpose in life was to do work for the next generation. If I can instill in kids the importance of valuing themselves, putting themselves first, and advocating for themselves, simply by making them feel empowered and encouraging them to love themselves with a toy, then I am fulfilling my purpose as a teacher.
Visit HealthyRootsDolls.com to learn more about Healthy Roots Dolls.
Be sure to also follow Healthy Roots Dolls on Instagram @HealthyRootsDolls.