Spiraling into Control: Miss Jessie's Products for Curly Hair

A mom-trepreneur's journey to embracing her natural curls

There was a time when Miko and Titi Branch, the sister team behind the beloved Miss Jessie's products for curly hair were known for legendary blowouts at their salon, but the birth of Miko's son, Faison, in 2001 changed everything. "As a new mom I didn't know what to expect," but, Miko said, "I never wanted to give him to a babysitter." In part to avoid leaving Faison for the workday, Miko moved to a brownstone in a then-rough part of Brooklyn big enough to use as a salon and a home to both sisters and a newborn. "Everyone was scared to come to Bed Stuy at the time, but they had to." Her skills were famous and, thanks to internet buzz, word spread fast. As it did, Faison was prompting another change to Miko's business style: an unceremonious goobye to pin straight hair, which refused to stay put during bathtime. When Miko's new look, a halo of gorgeous curls, attracted the attention of clients, she convinced her sister to make the switch, too, and the two began experimenting with homespun products to perfect the look. 

Incidentally, the time was right for curls as the millenial flat hair style gave way to texture. Long gone, too, was a wet '80s jerry curl; for of-the-moment curls, which Miko describes as "angelic," "soft," "luminous," and "bouncy," new products that attend to individual curl types were needed. To create them, both sisters called on the spirit of their grandmother, a woman known by all as "Miss Jessie," who had only one arm, but who "ruled the world from her kitchen" and styled both girls through their childhoods using kitchen fixes like mayonaise.

Since Miss Jessie's taking off (it is now sold in Target and Ricky's across the country), the sisters have moved their salon to an elegant Soho second floor where feminine details abound, a design that Miko says, reflects the spirit of curls: special, pretty, and fanciful, and also "intentional and preferred," not just for women who neglected a blowout. Miko herself has reverted back to her preferred straight, though textured, coif, having mastered some of the messier points of mothering: "Now that Faison is 12, I can do it." —Artie Niederhoffer

Photos by Matt Borkowski 

With the help of a stylist and a hair model, Miko walked us through the process of achieving a soft, bouncy curl. I was surprised by how much a few key points about the anatomy of a curl can maximize its length, lightness, and smoothness. The results were luminious indeed! Click through the slideshow for Miko's tutorial.