Issa Rae has become a natural hair icon of our generation.
And while Insecure's final season has come and gone, I am all for nostalgically noting the many times Issa Rae's hair philosophy lent itself to her character as an homage to the show's cultural impact. As the multi-hyphenate says, "there’s just nothing like seeing a Black woman who switches her hair like the days of the week." That goes double for Issa Dee.
Read our inaugural cover story on Issa's natural hair journey and see below for the Issa hair transformations that will give you natural hair inspo for days. Preesh, Insecure.
The Tried & True TWA
HBO
Classic and understated Issa Dee. In season one, the character was known to rock her TWA (teeny weeny afro) more than anything and seldom switched her hairstyle up from episode to episode.
Blown Out Afro Puff
HBO
This traditional afro puff is a classic amongst natural hair girls everywhere. And Issa rocking it in this season one episode served as a great reminder as to why.
Changes in the way she wore her hair started being more apparent in the series' second season. Instead of just a scarf here or a hair tie there, Issa experimented with twists, braids, and adding length in her hairstyles throughout the seasons moving forward.
Sis switched it up and switched it up often, which was a slight nod to the character's growth.
Half Up Half Down
HBO
This half-up half-down style with a side bang is the definition of ease without sacrificing any chic.
Flat Twisted Pony With A Bang
Justina Mintz/HBO
A bang is a must in this protective style. Flat twisted at the sides, Issa's hair is pulled into a low ponytail and left out in an afro puff. Mirroring that puff is her bang in the front. The end result is balanced and giving protective style inspo for days.
Flat Twisted Bun
Merie W. Wallace/HBO
For this simple protective style, mini flat twists are created and pulled into a low bun with extensions added to give a bun effect.
The evolution of Issa Dee's hair from a simple TWA to more complex, "elevated" hairstyles was a journey stylist Felicia Leatherwood was intentional about portraying.
In reference to season 4's progression, Leatherwood told NYLON, "This last season, I wanted to make sure that it was an upgrade for Issa Dee, which means that I go talk to the wardrobe and makeup and see what direction they're going in."
Elevated Faux Hawk Updo
Merie W. Wallace/HBO
In the premiere of season 4, Issa's coif was polished in a faux hawk updo. While most of the audience was questioning if they should break up with their "Molly," we were pondering how to add this style to our must-try list.
Slick Down Low Afro Puff Ponytail
Merie W. Wallace/HBO
In the second episode of season 4, Issa wore two variations of the slick down puff ponytail style. This iteration is pulled low instead of up and also features accents by way of gold bobby pins.
Merie W. Wallace/HBO
Flat Twisted Ponytail
Merie W. Wallace/HBO
Jumbo flat twists twisted back into a low ponytail with some hair added is how this easy style is achieved. Leatherwood mentioned about the ease of some of Issa's styles on the show, "I really like to represent the natural hair community well, and that's my first step. How can I make this something that's reasonable for any naturalista to recreate? [That they] can look and say, 'Oh, I could do that,' or to see themselves with that hairstyle in their own natural texture and their own flavor."
Low Ponytail With Mini Braids
Merie W. Wallace/HBO
The classic low ponytail style got an update with the addition of two mini braids placed in the front.
Twisted Curly Updo
Merie W. Wallace/HBO
The curly updo is given a bit of additional flair with the help of four perfectly laid flat twists bringing the style together.
Two Buns Accented With Beaded Braids
Merie W. Wallace/HBO
There's no denying Issa loves her updos. In this particular look, Issa adds two beaded braids on each side, going in the opposite direction of her two buns.
Braided Bun Updo With Curly Bang
Raymond Liu/HBO
In the season five opener, Issa experienced a bout of self-doubt while revisiting her alma mater. But one thing's for certain and two thing's for sure, the braided bun updo with the curly bang was the star of the show.
Two Feed-In Braids
Glen Wilson/HBO
The unveiling of this feed-in braid style gave me the summer vibes my life currently needs.
Two Twists In The Front, Hair Out In The Back
Glen Wilson/HBO
This hairstyle is perfection and feels like an update to the classic half up half down ponytail styles. Instead, the front of Issa's hair is sectioned into two and then twisted to meet in the back, with the rest of her hair left out.
Braids In The Front, Ponytail In The Back
Merie Wallace/HBO
Forever in love with the way that a lot of Issa's styles are hybrids and seem to create the perfect style. This style from the current and final season features braids in the front pulled into an exaggerated braided pony in the back.
Featured image by Merie Wallace/HBO
Originally published December 13, 2021
RELATED
While speaking to xoNecole, Eva shares that she’s a lot like the beloved 1994 character in many ways. “Lyric is so me. She's the odd flower. A flower nonetheless, but definitely not a peony,” she tells us.
“She's not the average flower you see presented, and so she reminds me of myself. I'm a sunflower, beautiful, but different. And what I loved about her character then, and even more so now, is that she was very sure of herself.
"Sure of what she wanted in life and okay to sacrifice her moments right now, to get what she knew she deserved later. And that is me. I'm not an instant gratification kind of a person. I am a long game. I'm not a sprinter, I'm a marathon.
America first fell in love with Eva when she graced our screens on cycle 3 of America’s Next Top Model in 2004, which she emerged as the winner. Since then, she's ventured into different avenues, from acting on various TV series like House of Payne to starring on Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Je-Caryous Johnson Entertainment
Eva praises her castmates and the play’s producer, Je’Caryous for her positive experience. “You know what? Je’Caryous fuels my audacity car daily, ‘cause I consider myself an extremely audacious woman, and I believe in what I know, even if no one else knows it, because God gave it to me. So I know what I know. That is who Je’Caryous is.”
But the mom of three isn’t the only one in the family who enjoys acting. Eva reveals her daughter Marley has also caught the acting bug.
“It is the most adorable thing you can ever see. She’s got a part in her school play. She's in her chorus, and she loves it,” she says. “I don't know if she loves it, because it's like, mommy does it, so maybe I should do it, but there is something about her.”
Overall, Eva hopes that her contribution to the role and the play as a whole serves as motivation for others to reach for the stars.
“I want them to walk out with hope. I want them to re-vision their dreams. Whatever they were. Whatever they are. To re-see them and then have that thing inside of them say, ‘You know what? I'm going to do that. Whatever dream you put on the back burner, go pick it up.
"Whatever dream you've accomplished, make a new dream, but continue to reach for the stars. Continue to reach for what is beyond what people say we can do, especially as [a] Black collective but especially as Black women. When it comes to us and who we are and what we accept and what we're worth, it's not about having seen it before. It's about knowing that I deserve it.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Feature image by Leon Bennett/WireImage
Fortunately, five simple words have simplified my dating process and ushered in clarity faster: “Would my husband do this?”
A couple of years ago, I met an entertainment lawyer who was tonguing down a twenty-something-year-old woman for breakfast while I slurped my green smoothie and chomped on a flatbread sandwich. Okay, Black love, I grinned and thought as I sauntered out of the Joe & The Juice. As soon as I stepped down from the front door, a torrential downpour of Miami summer rain cascaded and throttled me back inside to wait out the storm.
I grabbed a hot green tea and vacillated between peering out the wet door and anxiously checking my watch. My lengthy agenda started with attending the Tabitha Brown and Chance Brown’s “Black Love” panel, and I was already late. That’s when the lawyer introduced himself to me, after he made a joke about neither one of us wanting to get soaked by the rain. His female companion had braved the storm, leaving us to find our commonalities.
We both lived in L.A. and had traveled to the American Black Film Festival to expand our network. He represented various artists, including entertainment writers, while I was working as a writer/creative producer in Hollywood.
While there is no shortage of internet advice on how to strategically meet a prominent man at conferences, if I spend my hard-earned funds on career growth, I have tunnel vision, and that doesn’t include finding Mr. Right. So, I stowed his contact details away as strictly professional.
Keep It Cute Love And Hip Hop GIFGiphyAs the humidity and mosquitoes were rising around L.A., two months later, another suitor-turned-terrible match cooled off after three unimpressive dates and a bevy of red flags. I posted what some of my friends called a thirst trap, but it was really me wearing a black freakum jumpsuit with a plunging neckline to my friend’s 35th birthday soiree despite feeling oh, so unsexy and bloated on my cycle.
I’d been waiting to post a sassy caption and finally had the perfect picture to match: “You not asking for too much, you just asking the wrong MF.”
That’s when the entertainment lawyer swooped into my DMs and asked me to dinner. I was quite confused. Is he asking me on a date? Or is this professional? Common sense would’ve picked the former. Once it clicked that this would in fact be a date, I told my mentor, who’s been happily married for over twenty years and has often been a guiding light and has steered me away from the wrong men.
Upon telling him about how we met, he emphatically stated, “He ain’t it.” He followed up with a simple question, "You have to ask yourself: Would my husband do this? Would you tell others that you met your husband, tonguing down another woman, and later married him?"
Aint It No Way GIF by UFCGiphyOuch. The thought-provoking question cleared any haze. Prior to going out with the lawyer, the first thing I inquired about was the woman.
“You saw that?” He said, taken aback that I’d witnessed his steamy PDA. Surely, anyone with two open eyes peeped him caressing her backside as he kissed her in the middle of the coffee shop.
He brushed her off as a casual someone he’d gone on a couple of dates with but had since stopped talking to. He said he hadn’t been in a serious relationship in over three years. Though I was still doubtful, dating in L.A. is treacherous and ephemeral. Making it past three months is considered a rarity.
With my antennae alert, I dined with him at a cozy beachside steakhouse restaurant where we were serenaded by a live jazz band. I’d emphasized forming a platonic friendship first.
Break Up Friendship GIF by TLCGiphy“I’ll come to you,” he obliged. I liked that he had made me a priority by driving over 50 miles to see me. I also liked the effort he made to check in with me daily. But I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that he initiated on a professional pretense and then alley hooped through the back door on a romantic venture, which bombarded me with confusion.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my dating life, God is not the author of confusion; any man who brings confusion, rather than clarity, is simply not The One. It doesn’t matter how many boxes he checks–eventually, that confusion will manifest itself into bigger problems, in time.
After diving into deeper conversations on the phone, post our first dinner date, I quickly realized this man was indeed not The One for me. But I’m grateful for the valuable lesson I learned.
I don’t expect some unattainable fairytale of a husband; we all have our own flaws and conflict is inevitable, but after dating for two decades, through failure and success, I’ve realized that the person I ultimately marry must mirror the values I exert into the world. He must reciprocate kindness, patience, and respect. He must be quick to listen and slow to respond. He needs to be forgiving and trustworthy, practice healthy communication, and be a man of his word at the bare minimum.
If I’d had “Would my husband do this?” in my toolbox when I was dating and floundering in stagnant relationships, in my twenties, it would’ve saved me a lot of precious time. But now that I’m equipped with the reminder, it’s allowed me to ground myself in my non-negotiables and set/maintain the standard for the special person, I’ll one day say, “I do,” to.
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Featured image by stockbusters/Getty Images