How North West’s Curly Styles Are Inspiring a Generation of Natural Hair Girls Inline
Photo: Courtesy of Marjon Carlos1/4Top Knot
With Izzy completely distracted by Winnie the Pooh, I set about wetting and priming her little curls with a mixture of water and TotLogic’s Leave-in Conditioning Spray to mold the perfect top knot. As Dickey reminded me, “Think of your leave-in conditioner as a tool to detangle, to slick back, to brush back. That’s the product that will help to make the hair submit to you.” Combing her curls out and upward, I gathered them into a ponytail and tied them with an elastic band, then brushed down those all-important edges.
Photo: Courtesy of Marjon Carlos2/4Pom Poms
The precision of North’s deep middle part has always impressed me, but I wasn’t sure how to achieve it. Dickey explains, “You can see the direction that [most kids’] hair grows in and which side is a better part.” Using a rat tail comb and Kardashian Beauty Black Seed Dry Oil (the same product Kim uses on North) for a secure hold and extra shine, I parted Izzy’s tendrils down the middle, smoothing out her actual baby hairs. Wrapping the knots with latex rubber bands on either side, the look hardly budged as we stooped it up in Izzy’s Brooklyn neighborhood.
Photo: Courtesy of Marjon Carlos3/4Comb Over
A style of a bygone era reimagined, the slicked comb-over reminded me of the shellacked S-curls of Josephine Baker or the exactitude with which Frida Kahlo did her own hair. Following Dickey’s advice of using a cap full of leave-in conditioner for extra hold, I kept brushing Izzy’s buoyant curls down until they lay smooth and tucked behind her ear.
Photo: Courtesy of Marjon Carlos4/4Free Flowing Curls
For a day of running around at the playground—aka, Izzy completely in her element—I thought, why not let her natural curl pattern flow? Returning the curl back to its wet state to stave off frizz and reactivate the curl, the TotLogic leave-in conditioner was again my styler. With Izzy’s curls in full bloom, I took Dickey’s advice and let them air-dry while pushing her on the playground’s swing set. As she smiled from ear to ear, her quickly dried curls were just as happy.
