Miss Jessie's Haircare Co-Founder Miko Branch
Breaking Beauty Podcast
Dear Media, Jill Dunn and Carlene Higgins
4.7 • 954 Ratings
🗓️ 24 June 2020
⏱️ 49 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today we’re sitting down virtually with Miko Branch, co-founder of Miss Jessie’s Haircare. Hairstylist by trade, Miko launched the line in 2004 with her late sister, Titi Branch, sharing the Curly Pudding recipe they mixed up for their devoted clientele.Without any help from investors, the siblings bootstrapped the entire business, taking the homemade hair concoctions they learned to make in their grandmother’s kitchen to front and centre at major retail stores. Today, Miss Jessie’s is adored by celebrities like Alicia Keys, Lupita Nyong'o and Zendaya, along with curly, kinky, coily and wavy-hair women everywhere.
In this episode, Miko takes us through the fascinating backstory behind the brand, from their earliest days in the bustling Bedford–Stuyvesant salon to the secret to their best-selling Pillow Soft Curls — a wonder product that harnesses fabric softener technology for your hair to keeping Titi’s legacy alive through the company. Plus, catch Miko’s best tips for embracing your curls and transitioning from relaxed to natural hair.
Revealing the toughest and most rewarding moments in her storied journey to entrepreneurial success, Miko leaves us with advice on the best ways to support female Black business owners right now. Plus, stay tuned until the end for a special phone-a-friend! Fellow beauty journo Ingrie Williams of The T-Zone is back on the mic with her review of the iconic, Pillow Soft Curls.
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Hosts: Carlene Higgins and Jill Dunn
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The only way for you to get a job curly pudding is if we had an appointment. |
| 0:07.0 | And once people start like knocking on our door and ringing our bell at like nine o'clock at night or on Sunday we were like oh my |
| 0:16.5 | God. |
| 0:19.5 | Welcome to Breaking Beauty, the podcast all about the breakthrough people, products, and |
| 0:26.1 | moments in beauty. |
| 0:27.1 | We're your host Jill Dunn and Carleen Higgins. Hey everyone welcome back to breaking beauty podcast I am one of your co-host |
| 0:38.9 | Jill Dunn and our show is all about the breakthrough people products and moments in beauty and |
| 0:44.6 | right here alongside me virtually as always is my co-host carlene |
| 0:49.3 | hey carlene |
| 0:50.4 | hi jill we are really excited to bring you another epic founder chat today. We're |
| 0:55.8 | speaking with Meiko Branch co-founder of Miss Jessie's hair care. |
| 0:59.7 | Meiko launched the line in 2004 with her late sister TT Branch. |
| 1:04.8 | TT sadly passed away in 2014, and the name of the brand is actually an |
| 1:09.5 | owed to their paternal grandmother, Miss Jessie, who first nurtured |
| 1:13.9 | their love of hair products with her homemade concoctions |
| 1:16.8 | that she created right around the kitchen table. |
| 1:19.7 | The brand would become a pioneer, |
| 1:21.4 | designing styling, creams, moisturizers, and deep conditioning. and diverse textures that live in the world from curly to kinky to wavy and |
| 1:34.3 | everything in between. Miss Jesse's has earned a lot of celebrity fans to everyone |
| 1:40.0 | from Alicia Keys to Lopita and Yuongo to Zandea. |
| 1:44.5 | And some of you may know Miss Jessie's iconic curly pudding |
| 1:48.0 | that really was their first product ever. |
... |
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