Healthy Roots

Vergara, Camilo J., “Girls and Barbies, East Harlem, 1970,” Library of Congress.

My father taught me how to cornrow on a Barbie doll. Not only did I never get the hang of it, but I continued to see that small action as a metaphor: my hair, and how to deal with it, would always be lost in translation. Representation (or lack thereof) has long been a topic of discussion among Black communities, particularly when it comes to raising Black children. The impact of white dolls is by no means a new issue – the Clark Doll Experiment is a famous example of how children learn and internalize self-hatred based on the toys and images they are subjected to.

Enter Healthy Roots Dolls. The company, who is partnering with P&G’s My Black is Beautiful, was created to address this historically gaping hole in the toy industry. Founder Yelitsa Jean-Charles grew up with the all-too-common self esteem issues that stemmed directly from the dolls she was playing with. She was so used to having white dolls that, once gifted a Black doll by her parents, she cried, “because it wasn’t ‘the pretty one.’” 

This fall, Healthy Roots released Zoé, an 18” doll with realistic physical proportions and kinky hair that was made to be styled. Children can “put hair products in it, twist it, braid it, wash it and more.” The idea is that, through taking care of their doll’s hair, children can learn to care for and style their own hair, both lovingly and thoughtfully. This holiday season, Zoé will come with matching “My Black Is Beautiful” t-shirts for her and her “curl friend,” and a Curl Care Kit for joint styling sessions, complete with shampoo, conditioner, a recovery treatment, and two conditioning creams for Type 3 and Type 4 hair. 

By helping to establish healthy self-care practices early on, Zoé can teach Black children to take pride in the way that they look. Though positive representation is a never-ending process, gone are the Cornrow Barbie days – instead, Zoé can at least sit in her DreamHouse with a poppin’ twist out.