Back in April, Monteria Johnson (also known as “Tookie”) posted what is now summer’s favorite hairstyle in a viral TikTok video. “The BRAIDED BALD HEAD,” she wrote in the caption of the video, where she was found tracing her finger over one continuous braid on her client’s head. Since then, the style has been seen all over social media and celebrities––including on DaBrat’s wife Jesseca Dupart. It’s also been compared to a fake buzz cut, protective big chop, and wig braid downs as viewers struggle to define the look by other familiar styles.
One of which is the classic finger waves. “Some people have said zig-zag braids give you the feel of a finger wave,” she says, referring to the ebb and flow of her braided baldie style. Although she says she doesn’t think the baldie compares to old-school finger waves, “I think you can incorporate that into the style.” And, that she did. In her latest look, Tookie turned the braided baldhead into classic “S”-shaped waves, solidifying the braided baldie as the most versatile new ‘90s classic.
“This is a cornrow style that’s super long in the back, then I wanted to do this ‘S’ finger wave pattern going down the side,” she says in a TikTok video, showing off the look in a summer braid campaign. Adding a pin curl detail to the finger waves, she really leaned into the swirled shape, which shows us the timelessness required to be a classic style. One TikTok user commented that the look “should be in a braid museum,” while another wrote “do a basket weave. Bring that back.”
But, even still, “I don’t think my braided bald head is any of those things,” Johnson tells ESSENCE. “I think it’s a unique style that I re-introduced to the world as its own unique entity.” What we can say about the look is that it may be the latest “old-school” classic style we’ll be referencing 30 years from now. “My inspiration was just old-school styles back in the ‘90s,” she says. “I used to do a half hair design of one braid across the front with the hair hanging in the back so I just got the idea of doing that one braid continuously all over the head to see how it would look.”
In the original style, she started the braid on one side of the head before cornrowing personalized designs––like flowers, hearts, and zig-zags––until the entire head was covered. Then, she hid the end of the braid by sewing it down. While the look can’t be defined by any other style, and Black women should never be put into a box, she’s still using this style as an opportunity to experiment with her signature look.
“I definitely think it’s the latest hair trend right now,” she tells us. With short hair and braids both on an uptick this season, the Black community’s itch for nostalgia has been scratched with the braided bald head, which is simultaneously turning it into a timeless classic. “I am completely honored and humbled that the world absolutely loves it and I pray it goes down in history as a trend created by Tookie Did it.