BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY : AFRICAN AMERICAN " TITI BRANCH " CO-FOUNDER OF MISS JESSIE'S HAIR CARE LINE : GOES INTO THE " HALL OF BLACK GENIUS "

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Titi Branch, co-founder of Miss Jessie's hair care line, dead at 45

Titi Branch died Dec. 4 of an apparent suicide, according to NV Magazine. The Queens native rose to prominence with her Soho hair salon and line of popular Miss Jessie products.

BY LISA L. COLANGELO  

 

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

 

HAGEN, KEVIN FREELANCE NYDN/FREELANCE, NYDN

Titi Branch (r.), who ran the popular Miss Jessie's salon in Manhattan with her sister Miko (l.), has died.

The queen of curls who rose to prominence with her SoHo hair salon and popular Miss Jessie’s products has died.

Titi Branch, a Queens native, died on Dec. 4 of an apparent suicide, according to an obituary in NV Magazine. She was 45.

Representatives at Miss Jessie’s Manhattan salon, run by Branch and her sister Miko Branch, declined to comment Monday.

Miko seemed to acknowledge the loss Sunday morning on Twitter when she posted her sister’s name with a heart next to it. Miss Jessie’s salon also tweeted an ambiguous “Titi!” post the same day.

The pioneering businesswoman, born to African-American and Japanese parents, helped make ringlets the rage of fashion after years of searching for healthy ways to style her curly hair.

The Miss Jessie’s products, named for the sisters’ beloved grandmother, helped set the standard in the natural hair care industry.

HAGEN, KEVIN FREELANCE NYDN/FREELANCE, NYDN

Titi Branch (l.) rose to prominence with her Soho hair salon and line of popular Miss Jessie products.

“R.I.P. Titi Branch, thank you for inspiring me and believing in me early on,” radio personality Angela Yee wrote on Twitter. “Truly a beautiful person.”

Branch enjoyed breakthrough success when her formulas such as Curly Meringue, Curly Buttercreme and Baby Buttercreme were picked up and sold at Target, Wal-Mart and other major chain drug stores.

Described as a book-smart tomboy, Titi Branch grew up thinking she would become a reporter, according to her biography on her company’s website.

After a stint as a field producer on WABC-TV, Branch started her own business representing celebrity photographers.

In 1997, she and Miko opened Curve Salon in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn. They later renamed it for their grandmother, Jessie Mae Pittman.