When Teyana Taylor debuted her now-iconic curly pixie, it was the type of minimize that makes you pause mid-scroll. Quick. Sculpted. Female with out wanting too fussy. Chanell Sykes, a content material creator recognized for her humor and DIY magnificence makes an attempt, did publicly what many people have performed in non-public. She tried it. Virtually instantly, she knew it was not going the best way she imagined.
“Truthfully, [I knew] about three seconds into that first curl I combed out,” she advised MadameNoire with laughter. “The imaginative and prescient was there however the execution began humbling me quick. The curls had been doing their very own factor, it was simply…unhappy. I bear in mind wanting within the video whereas recording considering…yeah, this isn’t giving what I believed it was gonna give. That’s after I laughed and simply leaned into the second.”
The web did what the web does. The clip traveled. It sparked commentary. Her husband, Dother, jokingly requested if she was going for Teyana Taylor in Hidden Figures as a result of the look skewed extra Sixties than fashionable glam. What might have been embarrassing turned a turning level for Chanell.
RELATED CONTENT: ‘Our Softness Is Not A Legal responsibility’ — Teyana Taylor’s 2026 Golden Globe Win For Greatest Supporting Actress Is Black Lady Magic In Movement
The Look That Began It All
When Chanell first noticed Teyana Taylor rocking the curly pixie, it felt private.
“It was daring however delicate on the identical time,” she says. “It felt easy, assured, female, and unapologetic. She has at all times been certainly one of my coiffure inspirations as a fellow quick hair queen.”
There’s something distinctly communal about Black girls and hair. We see it. We screenshot it. We strive it. We tweak it. We declare it as our personal interpretation, however while you try a glance impressed by somebody whose glam squad consists of a few of the greatest within the enterprise, you’re getting into a unique enviornment.
Chanell knew her group would chortle along with her. She didn’t anticipate what occurred subsequent.
“I posted it considering my group would chortle with me and hold it transferring. Seeing it journey that far felt unreal. I stored considering, is that this actually actual??”
It was.
The clip went viral. It was picked up by The Sherri Shepherd Present. Alongside the best way, Teyana commented that she’d simply come to do it herself.
For those who’ve been on-line lengthy sufficient, that celeb feedback are sometimes simply that. Feedback. Supportive, form, fleeting. Chanell wasn’t naive.
“I undoubtedly thought it was a kind of moments the place you smile, say thanks, and don’t count on the rest till the second remark got here,” she says. “At that time I felt one thing could actually come from this. I appreciated the gesture however I didn’t absolutely let myself consider it till it truly occurred.”
Teyana and her glam squad, hairstylist Nikki Nelms and make-up artist Yeika Glow, confirmed up.
“[It was] very sisterly. Simply girls in a room laughing, speaking hair, sharing suggestions so I can go residence and love my pixie,” Chanell says. “They had been so welcoming and gracious. It felt protected…not intimidating in any respect. Plus, my husband Dother was with me too and he’s at all times my consolation and protected house.”
Teyana bolstered one thing Chanell wanted to listen to in that room.
“She actually bolstered the concept of standing ten toes down in who you might be,” Chanell says. “Sharing magnificence and hair suggestions to assist full and look and for me to be taught for myself. Simply proudly owning your presence and letting individuals catch as much as it.”
RELATED CONTENT: Tales From TikTok: This Ladies’ Evening Out Hair Rescue Is Why We Love Black Ladies
The Architect Behind the Pixie
The pixie that impressed the viral second didn’t materialize out of skinny air. Behind it’s celeb hairstylist Nikki Nelms, who shared some behind-the-scenes moments of attaining this search for Taylor’s current Saturday Evening Stay look with MadameNoire.
For the SNL look, Nelms leaned into what she describes as “very her — a cool and stylish pixie.”
“Though there aren’t as many flips as we now have been doing recently, it was nonetheless tremendous cute,” Nelms explains.
For those who’ve ever puzzled how celeb hair appears to be like sculpted however not stiff, the reply is each method and product.
“It’s SNL, so all the things was super-fast,” Nelms says of styling underneath strain. “I finger styled extra with this look and made certain to maintain the fly aways to a minimal.”
Her go-to merchandise for outlining and sustaining form on Teyana had been KISS Colours & Care Edge Fixer Gel Max Maintain and the KISS Colours & Care Hair Edge Fixer Wax Stick Max Maintain.
“Each helped me with these defining items, particularly those that framed her face,” she says.
Nelms is evident about what she enjoys most about working with Teyana.
“We now have labored collectively for a bit now, and I benefit from the collaboration and creativity we discover in every look. That is additionally a serious second, and I like experiencing big moments with my shoppers.”
For Nelms herself, “That is one other big second I can proudly say that I used to be part of!”
Viral However Earned
There’s a distinction between a fluke and a breakthrough. Though this second has catapulted Sykes in entrance of a brand new viewers, she has been diligently working as a content material creator, sharing a heartfelt video about her journey simply final Could. Since then, Chanell has stored busy reaching her targets. Along with different well-performing content material–and even a perfume launch–she has steadily checked issues off of her listing of targets. Consequently, she doesn’t take into account this shift in her life a fortunate break.
“It feels surreal but additionally earned,” she says. “I stayed when it was uncomfortable, complicated, and quiet. This second seems like God’s timing and alignment. I simply stored telling myself, ‘No matter it’s, I’m believing God for it.’”
That confidence wasn’t at all times connected to validation. Sharing what she needed to consider about herself earlier than the exterior validation confirmed up, she stated, “I used to be sufficient with out it. My voice, my humor, and my group mattered even when nothing ever went viral. As soon as I believed that, all the things else adopted.”
When her clip appeared on nationwide tv, Chanell felt the burden of it.
“Overwhelming in one of the simplest ways,” she says. “It was a kind of moments the place you pause and actually say thanks. To God, my husband, children and mother for at all times supporting me, and to myself for persevering with to indicate up.”
Her recommendation to her previous self is straightforward: “Publish the video. Even when it’s messy. Matter of truth…particularly when it’s messy,” which is perhaps the thesis of this complete second.
Typically, in case you hold the digital camera rolling, the one who impressed the look pulls up, sits down, and makes it proper.
RELATED CONTENT: Curler Units Are The Previous-College Hair Transfer We’re Loving Once more This Fall—Right here’s How To Grasp It At Residence
