Growing up in Sweden with Chilean parents, Babba Rivera spent years trying to fit into beauty standards that didn’t reflect her. Creating Ceremonia became a way to reconnect with the hair, rituals, and heritage she had once tried to leave behind.
On Volume Up by The Tease, Babba Rivera shares how that personal shift became a business, why she launched with one product, and how customers continue to shape the brand.
Making Peace With Her Hair
Rivera describes years of straightening and bleaching her hair before questioning how much of that routine was driven by pressure to conform. As she began thinking about motherhood, she revisited the beauty traditions she grew up with, especially those passed down by her hairstylist father.
“It made me make peace with my natural self and my natural beauty,” she said, referring to the creation of Ceremonia.
Building Through Conversation
Her experience at Uber helped shape a willingness to launch and learn. Ceremonia started with Aceite de Moska, a scalp oil customers could add to their existing wash routine.
“We had a community before we had a brand,” Rivera said.
That community began on WhatsApp, where women shared their hair concerns. Customer conversations, reviews, and repeat purchases continue to inform the line. This even included requests that helped inspire a guava fragrance mist.
Sharing a Culture With the World
Ceremonia is a Latina brand that Babba wants everyone to feel invited into. She sees Latin American ingredients and beauty traditions as worthy parts of routines around the world.
That mission also shapes what she hopes to leave behind. Rivera wants Ceremonia to become a reference point for other Latin founders, showing them a path for their own ideas.
The culture she once tried to distance herself from has become central to what she is building.
Listen to the full conversation on Volume Up by The Tease wherever you pod. Follow @readthetease and @volumeupbythetease for more.
