The woody smell of palo santo, bamboo, cactuses and lo-fi welcomes customers into Yoali, owned by two second-generation Mexicans in the heart of Jefferson Blvd.
It’s a holistic spa for Latinas and others to rediscover their beauty.
Yoali, which means night in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, is operated by friends Esti Romero and Sofía Lobatos. Romero decided on the name to pay tribute to how she feels more adventurous and creative at night.
After working in several corporate spas and discovering the lack of treatments and attention specific to brown skin tones, the duo opened their spa in 2020. The friends wanted to create a space free of beauty stereotypes.
“I want everyone who comes here to feel free and experiment with their beauty on their terms,” said Romero, 33. “For us, it was very important to choose a Nahuatl name for the project, because we want to make sure that people know that Mexicans make this. My culture is my main inspiration.”
She said traditional spas can make some Latinas feel uncomfortable.
“You go to a spa to receive a treatment on your body and feel relaxed afterward, but instead, you leave the place with anxiety because you don’t feel like your big brown body belongs in a place where everyone fits perfectly on the white, skinny stereotypes,” said Romero, who was born and raised in Dallas.
Romero’s mother migrated from Mexico City, and she traveled back and forth between there and Texas during her childhood and teenage years. Romero fell in love with the smells of typical Mexican flowers and plants like jamaica, cempasúchil (marigold) and eucalyptus.
During those years, she also discovered her passion for beauty treatments and skincare routines, but said she always felt that she did not belong in the beauty industry because of her skin color and body shape.
“Why? Our beauty has been whitewashed. We have been taught that being brown is not pretty. That being fat is horrible,” said Romero. “So I thought it was time to create our own space. To own our own beauty, to pay respect to our ancestors and reclaim our beauty.”
The two friends met in 2020 while each was trying to obtain their esthetician license at the Aveda Arts & Sciences Institute in Dallas. Six months later, Romero reached out to Lobatos with the idea of working together.
“I just saw so much of me in Sofy [Lobatos], and I knew she was the right person to give life to this project,” said Romero.
Entrepreneurship
Lobatos, 22, grew up in Ciudad Juárez and El Paso. When she turned 12, her family moved to Dallas. For Lobatos, the idea of beauty starts from how people feel from the inside out. From building self-confidence, being proud of where people come from, and feeling good about their skin color and body shape.
Lobatos was amazed when Romero proposed they work together.
“I firmly believe that what Esti wanted to create was perfect for me,” said Lobatos. “I wanted to step away from corporate spas where everything we know about aesthetics professionally is based on white people’s skin.”
The friends also saw the opportunity as a way to grow the Latina entrepreneurship community in the Dallas area. The path to renting and renovating a space by themselves was bumpy. They had to raise the money needed to give life to Yoali and their attempts to secure a lease were rejected nine times.
In March, the duo moved the spa to 902 W. Jefferson Blvd. from a smaller space they’d outgrown in the Bishop Arts District.
For Irma Romero, 65, mother of Esti Romero, seeing her daughter open a business and pursue her passion in beauty tells her that migrating to the U.S. 35 years ago was the right thing to do.
“I am so proud of all of her accomplishments but mostly that she’s always proud of her Mexican roots, and she is sharing her knowledge and our ancestors’ knowledge about botanical cosmetics with other women like her,” said Irma Romero, who is also involved in the business as Romero’s right hand.
Both friends’ parents worked tirelessly to give them an education and a better life in the U.S., they said. Now, both want to create a wealthy generation.
“My dad always wanted to do other things, but he couldn’t because he wasn’t born here, and I am forever grateful for his sacrifices. Because of that, I can now work in what I love,” said Lobatos.
Products from Mexico
From the moment clients step foot in Yoali, the calm energy of Romero and Lobatos greets them, along with shelves full of products, some made by the duo,such as lavender bath bombs, agua de jamaica face mist, Vitamin C serum, and incense sticks from roses, palo santo, sandal and other scents.
Some of the products and ingredients they use for their treatments are from the states of Jalisco, Oaxaca and Estado de México.
Yoali clients can choose from the multiple treatments. When it comes to facial treatments, they have a variety, such as relaxation, peach fuzz, hydro, micro-channeling and enzyme.
The spa also offers waxing services on every part of the body, makeup services, mommy belly massage, beard treatments and many other beauty services.
“We welcome all backgrounds and skin color tones in this space. We want to be a safe space where people can experiment with their beauty and feel good when they leave Yoali,” said Romero.
Alanys Resendez, 22, has been a client of Yoali for almost two years. She stumbled across the spa while she was looking for facial acne treatments.
“I was debating whether to go to the dermatologist, but when I found out about Yoali, I took a chance, and now the acne is gone,” Resendez said. “I feel like I’m walking into a close friend’s house where I’m welcomed for who I am and I can leave the place feeling good about myself.”
The duo also wants to educate people about botanical services and teach people to be more aware of what they are putting on their skin.
“We are reintroducing what our ancestors used, the power of antioxidants our plants in Mexico offer us. We want people to get an ancestral and cultural experience here,” said Lobatos.
They said most clients feel guilty about not knowing how to treat their skin or feel uncomfortable with products on the regular market. They also say they often see body shaming for big bodies and work to make clients feel more comfortable with who they are.
“I always tell them, ‘es lo que hay,’ ‘this is what we have,’ and we have to love it and take care of ourselves no matter what color we have or what size of clothes we wear. This is you. Love yourself,” said Romero.
