The history of "Black Hair and Beauty Culture" mirrors the intricacy of both African and American cultures. Over the years, African American hair has been associated with the ideology of white visual conception. Some people say that Blacks have embraced hairstyles and beauty methods that reflect popular European standards of beauty. However, Blacks have used their West African roots and their own artistry to create styles and standards that reflect a unique Black culture.
Around 1441 when African slaves were brought west to the "New World," they were confronted with their first loss of identity. It was then that the one and only identity they had, was stripped from them. The standards of beauty that they encountered were the privilege of fair skin, straight hair, and thin features, in contrast to "African" dark skin, curly hair, and wider noses and mouths. Some slaves had to get accustomed to the European beauty styles to survive (literally). Often times they would serve as barbers and/or beauticians for their white owners. Other slaves attempted to stay with their traditional African hair customs; for example, braiding hair using African patterns and using natural herbs from trees for their hair and skin care.
Many Blacks argue that imitating European standards of beauty and grooming was necessary for Blacks to be accepted by white culture, especially by potential white masters and employers. For generations hairstyles have reflected the history of American race relations and the way Blacks wore their hair reflected the dominant white culture. African-American hair was straightened, combed, or parted to mimic Western coiffures. In response to the propaganda in Black communities to accept the European standards of beauty, the Black hair care market expanded.
Over the years African Americans have thrown away the European standards of beauty. During the 1960's the “Afro” debuted and with it the concept of Black is Beautiful. During the 80's and the 90's West African traditional hairstyles began to resurface in the Black community. Many people were getting braids with the traditional West African patterns. There are many beauty shops that are designed to create only West African traditional hairstyles.
Near the end of the twentieth century, relaxed hair became popular again in a wide range of short and long styles, while the new jheri curl used a different chemical to create loose, wet curls for both men and women. Women and men chose dreadlocks, twist, corkscrews, fades, and other styles that used the benefits of Black hair's natural texture. Despite the economic depression in many Black neighborhoods, hair salons (for women) and barber shops (for men) remain among the most successful Black business in urban communities, and even African Americans who move to predominately white suburbs often return to Black urban neighborhoods to get their hair done.
Still, Blacks are losing control over the Black hair care market. Business by business, mergers and acquisitions are taking apart Black-owned hair care endevours. A moment of truth came when L'Oreal acquired Carson. The result was the top two-Black owned hair care companies (Johnson Products and Soft Sheen) were joined under L'Oreal’s ownership. Many white business people know kind of money Black people put into their hair care and want a part of that market.
The popularity of natural African American hairstyles has also developed an Internet following. There are many cosmetology-related jobs in other websites with information, products, and tips for African American hair care. Websites devoted to natural styles, braids and dreadlocks are growing too. Black Hair Media is one of the more comprehensive sites online. Nappy Hair is another online resource for anyone who needs guidance managing natural hair. Offline, many books have been published on the topic, among the most recent is the 2003-released, "Hair Rules: The Ultimate Hair-Care Guide for Women with Kinky, Curly, or Wavy Hair," by New York City stylist, Anthony Dickey.
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During the 1960s and 70s, Black power and pride movements in the United States brought about the emergence of the Afro hairstyle. Black men and women would grow their hair out to significant diameters away from their head as a rejection of Eurocentric standards of beauty, an embracing of African heritage and roots. and a confirmation of the idea that "Black is Beautiful"
The Afro is sometimes texturized so that it is not in its true African state, but slightly relaxed with a frizzier and more wiry appearance that springs out. Eventually, this hair style grew away from its political and cultural connotation and was embraced by the mainstream. Afros became popular even among non-Blacks with looser curly hair.
Other hairstyles often worn by wooly haired people of African descent are cornrows, braids, and dreadlocks. Cornrows and braiding traditions have survived in the African diaspora, and were brought to the Americas by African slaves. Dreadlocking is a tradition among the Rastafari movement of Jamaica. These hairstyles associated with people of African descent have become popular with non-Blacks with the emergence of hip hop culture and Caribbean influences such as reggae music.
While recent years have brought about a movement among Black women to wear their hair naturally, most Black women in the Western world have their hair relaxed or straightened (either by use of a device such as a hot comb, or by the use of chemical relaxers usually containing lye). From the 1930s to the 1960s, conking, where Black men straighten their kinky hair using chemicals, was common in the United States. Some Black people in the Western world are discouraged from wearing natural hair in the workplace and even among other Black people. Because of western history with black hair, "nappy" hair is sometimes seen as something inferior or to be ashamed of, compared to straight or "good hair" (an old southern United States term for looser, curly hair).
There has been a boom in marketing to target hair products at African descended people (ie. "African Pride" for women, "Out of Africa" shampoo, etc.). Slogans that promote a pan-African appreciation of Afro textured hair include "Happy to be nappy", "Don't worry, be nappy" as well as "Love, peace and nappiness". When African descended people wear natural hair, this is sometimes referred to as going "napptural".
An afro, sometimes called a "natural" or shortened to "fro", is a hairstyle in which the hair extends out from the head like a halo or cloud. This may or may not include wearing such afros long, to several times the diameter of the head. An afro requires curly hair and often, but not always, Afro textured hair, which typically people of indigenous African descent naturally have. The ancient Africans known to us as the ancient Egyptians were known at times to wear their wooly hair in this style. Anyone of any ethnic background is capable of acquiring an afro if they have curly hair especially if they have some African ancestry. With naturally kinky hair, the spiralling, tightly coiled curls can be straightened out somewhat, giving the hair added volume and length, by first braiding the hair, then separating the coils using an afro pick. The afro pick is an adaptation of a traditional African grooming instrument, which is essentially a narrow comb with long, widely spaced teeth.
In 1963, actress Cicely Tyson sported cornrows or a "TWA" (a "teeny, weeny afro") in the popular network television series East Side, West Side. Following the example of Bob Dylan - who is Jewish and who had let his curly hair grow out - Jimi Hendrix became one of the first popular entertainers to have a large afro. The afro also had political connotations with Malcolm X calling conked hair "a step towards self-degradation". The afro style was a repudiation of the use of hair straighteners to mimic the straightness of Caucasian hair. The afro gained popularity during the 1960s and 1970s, in connection with the growth of the Black Pride and Black Power political movements, and the emergence of blaxploitation films and disco music. Among Blacks, afros were considered a proclamation of "Black is Beautiful!" a popular slogan of the time. They became symbols of race pride; progressive, often leftist political leanings; and militancy. In northern and western states Afros were seen popularly worn in ghettos such as Harlem, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and Watts as early as 1965 and 1966. In the southern US however, it was not a popular hairstyle until 1969 and 1970. However, during the later half of the 1970s, the style passed into the cultural mainstream and for many people became simply a fashion that sometimes even Caucasian men (and women) with looser, less curly hair adopted.
Pop culture
Today afros are used in popular culture for comedic effect, especially in comedies from the 90s era due to their unique dimensions. A common joke involves the hiding of objects in the person's hair. In the movie Leprechaun in the Hood, for instance, a character played by Ice-T pulls a baseball bat from his afro; this scene is a satire of a similar scene in the blaxploitation classic Foxy Brown, in which Pam Grier hides a revolver in her afro. Another Grier film, Coffy (1973) depicted a scene where she plants razor blades in her afro before a catfight scene.
Another kind of afro joke is seen in a 70s flashback sequence of the Leslie Nielsen comedy The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult, where Nordberg (played by O. J. Simpson) sports an afro so large that he's unable to walk through a door. One of Victoria Principal's films (Earthquake) featured her character in an "afro", and the James Bond film Moonraker depicted a scene with a member of Drax's master race sporting an "afro". Afros often pop up in anime with characters such as Nabeshin and Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo, both of whom seemingly derive mystical powers from their afros. Additionally, Noboru Yamaguchi of the series Cromartie High School sports an afro which seems to change in size and consistency during a scene. This kind of haircut also appears in the anime Sgt. Frog as the main focus of the first ending theme song. The term Jewfro is also the title of a popular rant/humor site called Jewfro.org
The first series of UK TV programme Trigger Happy TV often featured a sketch in which Dom Joly wore a ridiculously large afro wig and then stood in such a way that the wig would obscure a member of the public's view of something - London landmarks such as the Palace of Westminster were often chosen. The sketch was also performed in a cinema, where Joly entered and sat in front of someone; making them unable to see the screen. The person was then seen to move to a seat in front of Joly, apparently complaining whilst doing so. As soon as the person sat down, Joly removed the wig to cause further annoyance.
