These Are The Ancestral Beauty Rituals Your Fave Latina Creators Swear By

To me, my mom has always been the most beautiful woman in the world. When I was little, I’d rummage through her makeup (and come out clown-faced), waddle around in her high heels, and put on runway shows with my little sister, styled entirely from her closet. I was obsessed with her soft mint silks and the ‘90s maternity tops that fit me like maxi dresses. I’d watch her pop vitamin E pills and spread the oil across her face, pour paraffin wax over her arms, play meditative music, and brush her hair 100 times before bed. When I’d ask why she was so beautiful, she’d always say, “porque mi mami es bella y ella me enseño.”

I know I’m not the only one with mother-daughter beauty memories like this. It’s one of those “I’ve never had an original experience” moments I’m grateful to share, because it means love and beauty have been passed down in similar ways across so many families. 

With the release of Bad Bunny’s DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS at the start of the year, I’ve been thinking a lot about my family history, what has been passed down to me, and how it all unfolds ritualistically. With song like “DtMF,” “Weltita,” and “Lo Que Le Pasó a Hawaii,” it’s the kind of album that makes you sentimental about family and home.

This summer, I had the opportunity to attend Bad Bunny’s No Me Quiero Ir de Aquí residency in Puerto Rico with method, the residency’s official body-care sponsor. Standing in the audience at El Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot, with tens of thousands of people around, I witnessed his album, his ode to his ancestral lands, culture, and resilience, come to life. I  watched how the people around me cherished the moment they were experiencing with their loved one, just as DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS called them to. Even as a colombiana from New Jersey, I felt similarly, struck by how my own memories and passed-down rituals were surfacing for me.

But that’s the point of Benito’s music and the mission behind method’s “pa’l recuerdo,” a celebration of the cross-generational traditions that were passed down to us and that we then are responsible for preserving. For method, it’s about ancestral and intergenerational beauty  rituals. During Bad Bunny’s 30-concert residency, the brand transformed the bathrooms at El Choli into immersive spaces honoring Puerto Rican beauty customs and the bathroom as a site of connection, memory, and self-expression. 

Whether someone is reapplying their lipstick before the show or calming the runaways that dashed out their ponytail while dancing to “VeLDÁ,” they’re greeted with mirrors that are etched with affirmations and counters that hold installations that nod to the little rituals we inherit: from how our abuelas taught us to fix our hair to the fun of getting ready with friends. Out in the concourse, method also set up a cafecito bar (like the one at your tia’s house) and a shower-inspired photo booth. 

In the spirit of DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS and “pa’l recuerdo,” I took myself on a weeklong journey to reconnect with inherited beauty rituals. While some were passed down to me by my own mother, others came from the mamis of our favorite Latina creators. From Jess Judith to Jools Lebron, here’s how beauty grounds us and how this residency deepened our connection to culture, memory, and ourselves.

On the first day of my beauty week, I followed the tips that were handed down to Dominican content creator Jess Judith.

“I never leave the house before putting on lipstick,” she told me. “And I make sure I brush my hair, so I’m not walking around with a ‘degreñe.’ I also never go out with wrinkled clothes — everything must be perfectly ‘planchadito.’”

I love the idea of ritualistic beautification, though perhaps to Jess’ dismay, I’ve never had much of a problem with leaving the house in a wrinkly garment (though recently, I’ve been ironing my clothes more. We can call that adulthood or personal growth). 

So Day 1, I put on my favorite lip combo (NYX Cold Brew lip liner and Saie’s Dip lip gloss), brushed down my hair, ironed my favorite button-up, and went for a walk around town. I’ll admit, ironing may now officially have a spot in my dressing essentials.

Larissa Dones’ grandmother and my mom are two very genius beauty queens: they swear by honey facials. 

“One [ritual] that my grandmother passed down to me is using honey as a facial,” the Puerto Rican-Dominican actress and content creator told me. “It’s simple, natural, and every time I do it, it reminds me of her love and the traditions that keep me rooted in who I am.”

I, too, grew up using honey on my skin, but I preferred to use it as a face scrub. I used to mix it with coffee for it to exfoliate. This time, I followed Dones’ approach: I spread a layer over my face, let it sit for about 15-to-20 minutes, and then rinsed it off. My skin felt soft and bright afterwards. Thanks to honey’s antibacterial and antioxidant properties, this ritual also helps with acne scars, cleansing, and moisturizing, which feels like a bit of magic passed down from one generation to the next.

Just like any other homebody, I love lounging around in oversized clothing, being cozy, and not really thinking about getting dressed, so Carla Bejarán’s beauty pass-me-down made me step out of my comfort zone. 

“A beauty ritual I’ve learned from my grandmother and still practice till this day is to always be on point everywhere I go, even if I stay home, because, like she says, ‘you never know who’s coming to knock on your door or who you’re meeting that day.’ And because feeling and looking good is also beauty,” the Puerto Rican beauty creator said.

So, on a day when I had no plans to leave the house, I washed my hair, did my makeup, and put on a comfy yet styled outfit. It added a little formal layer to my day and made me think of my own grandma, who always had her hair perfectly curled and a matching set on, no matter what the day held or the activity planned. 

There’s something empowering about this kind of ritual — even if it's just for yourself — that sets the tone for your day. You carry yourself with a little more intention and confidence.

Accessorizing is such an important style and beauty ritual for me. I see jewelry as a way to adorn my vessel and a meaningful part of how I present myself to the world and honor my little earth body. So I was all-in for Adriana Filomeno’s familial beauty advice.

“Some beauty rituals that my mom has passed down to me are to never leave the house without earrings and to always style my hair, even if I'm staying inside the house. And to this day, those are tips I live by,” the Puerto Rican TV host told me.

My earrings usually stay the same: a three-hoop stack that I switch between gold or silver, depending on the moment. But taking after Filomeno’s ritual, I decided to have a little more fun with it. I sapped out my bottom two hoops for my favorite dangly pearls by CreepyYeha, and I added a larger silver hoop on the second piercing. This is something I usually reserve for special occasions, but I think Filomeno would agree that every day is special.

Here’s a strange but fun fact about me: I only ever paint my nails on wash days because shampooing my hair also helps remove any polish that accidentally got on my skin, so Dakota Latalladi’s two rituals actually go hand in hand for me.

“One of the strongest rituals we’ve passed down is doing our own nails. In my family, we all know how to do them exactly how we like: long, colorful, and with bold designs that reflect our personalities,” the Florida-based Puerto Rican content creator shared with me. “The same goes for hair. From my grandmother to my mom, caring for and styling our hair has always been something we take pride in.”

Like Latalladi, taking care of my hair has always been a central part of my beauty rituals, one I share with my mom and grandma. My grandma always slept with curlers in her hair to have perfect spirals the next day, and my mom’s jet-black hair was always long, glossy, and smelled amazing. For me, that translates to keeping my hair healthy and caring for my curls as best I can. 

To honor Latalladi’s tip, I took a day to give my nails and hair some much-needed TLC: I cleaned up my nails and pressed on Chillhouse’s Priestess of Punk press-on set, washed with method’s island mist shampoo and conditioner, added my favorite Rizzo’s Curls curl defining cream, and styled my tresses using a ritual passed down from my dad (he used to finger-curl each ringlet individually). In that moment, I felt an incredible sense of love for myself and for my family.

For Nuyorican content creator Jools Lebron, there’s no beauty tip more demure than coconut oil lathers.

“My grandma always had coconut oil on deck and now so do I,” she told me. “Curls acting up? Coconut oil. Dry skin? Coconut oil. Nails looking dull? Coconut oil. It’s basically the Puerto Rican version of Windex from My Big Fat Greek Wedding. It’s simple, it works, and it makes me think of her every time I use it.”

Coconut oil is a true multitasker. It’s rich in fatty acids, deeply moisturizing, helps reduce protein loss in hair, and can be used for everything, from skincare to cooking. Since my hair has suffered from many layers of bleach and box dye, I decided to do a coconut oil hair mask to help revitalize my curls. I used to do these all the time in high school when I was a swimmer dealing with chlorine damage, but I hadn’t done one in years. It felt incredibly nostalgic, and after leaving the mask on for about 30 minutes, my curls felt softer and bouncier (like they had a piece of their former glory). 

For anyone who wants to try it at home, warm up a few tablespoons of coconut oil, massage it through damp hair from roots to ends, cover your hair with a shower cap, leave it on for 20-to-30 minutes, and then shampoo and condition as usual.

Okay, it’s my mom’s turn now. Like my mother, I’ve never really been into wearing perfume. My mom’s signature scents always came from the creams she wore: Ponds and cocoa butter. 

As my allergies and sensitivity to fragrances have gotten worse over the years, I also prefer subtler scents. So, in honor of my mother and the moisturizing body rituals she inherited from hers, I took a little deep-moisturizing moment for myself. 

I used method’s simply nourish body lotion, which has coconut, rice milk, and shea better, and it reminded me of the yummy scents my mom always carried. I massaged it slowly into my skin, using my hand in a fist and rubbing my knuckles in circular motions (just like Mami taught me), which not only moisturizes but also helps with circulation. Now, I can have my own signature scent and can hopefully pass it down to the next generation, just as my matriarchs did for me.