A History Of Black Hair

One of the less mentioned parts of culture is the way those of a culture present themselves. Understanding this part of culture can aid in the overall understanding of others.  A topical example of this is hair in the Black community. The history of Black hair goes much further back than the 60s and 70s when the Afro became trendy. The history of Black hair starts with the time-consuming styling that occurred prior to the 1500s. It follows through the Eurocentric beauty standards of the United States, and continues into today.

For Black-Americans, hair holds a rich history that connects old and new generations. Like in many other cultures, presentation was a way of explaining oneself for Africans. Hair was an incredibly important feature “[prior] to the transatlantic slave trade… Black hair denoted cultural and spiritual meanings for both men and women… once the slave trade began, the African’s connection to their hair was forever altered, and complicated by life in North America… there simply was no time to care much about one’s appearance or one’s hair” (Thompson). Hair styles seen today such as twists, braids, locks, and zulu knots were just as common prior to the slave trade as they are now. It became impossible for slaves to maintain the hairstyles that they once could. If it weren’t shaved off completely, African hair was seen as “wool-like” and as a source of shame. African hair was unacceptable by White standards and led to wearing scarves and/or straightening hair to be deemed acceptable. 

At this point, elaborate braids became a preference for some slaves alongside scarves and headwraps. Sundays became a day off in which slave women would braid each other’s hair. Braids provided a style that could remain in place over the course of a week and gave slaves some semblance of what they had before the slave trade began. This weekly styling kept a part of their culture alive and the tradition of braiding would continue long after the slave trade ended. It would also become a source of ridicule in “popular culture. Braids, plaits, or loose kinky hair was a comic relief, especially personified in the Our Gang character, Buckwheat. Even Maya Angelou described dreaming of waking up from ‘Black ugly dream’ as a child ” (Hagro). This negative portrayal and connotation would lead to a large shift away from Black-Americans wearing their “natural hair” and a shift toward hair alteration. 

During the 19th century, many Black-Americans began straightening their hair and a demand for straightening products grew. The goal was to “‘fix’ their Blackness, their otherness” (Hagro). The demand grew so much that Black-Americans themselves began selling their own straightening products. For example, Madam C.J. Walker’s 1905 hair softener, a hot comb, was the first hair straightening product sold by and for Black-Americans. This product “revolutionized the way Black women thought about their hair. Because [Walker] was also Black, not only did her product sanction the act of straightening, it also turned it from something Whites had demanded that Blacks do into a collective signifier of progress” (Thompson). Straightened hair became a source of pride in the black community. It showed that they were assimilating into the Eurocentric culture in which they found themselves. After centuries of being ashamed of their hair, Black-Americans continued to be ashamed and the selling of straightening products by Black-Americans for Black-Americans only reinforced this collective same. 

The process of disguising kinky hair through straightening alone was used until the end of the nineteenth century. However, it was not a permanent fix. Straightening “processes have to be repeated after each washing because humidity and water cause the hair to revert to its natural state” (Hagro). This meant that any time straightened hair was exposed to moisture, Black-Americans would have to go back through the time-consuming process of re-straightening. Towards the end of the 19th century, Black-Americans began to look for other ways to maintain their straightened hair and eventually the perm was created. In order “[t]o bypass pressing, kinky hair can be permanently straightened with a chemical perm or a relaxer. Treated hair will not revert to its coily texture” (Hagro). This method became a rite of passage within the Black community as it subdued curls permanently, which made it easier for children to do their hair on their own and easier to straighten said hair on a regular basis. 

These permanent chemical treatments for hair can begin as early as six years old. According to “African American Personal Presentation: Psychology of Hair and Self-Perception,” they are very damaging and have a negative impact on the health of the hair they are applied to (Ellis-Hervey, et al.). The negative impact of these hair treatments, as well as a shift in the political climate, led to the appearance of the “afro” in the 1960s. Natural hair styles became symbols of political change in the direction of self love in the Black community. Despite this shift in opinions, “older generations did not relate to it” and the wearing of “free” hair became quite controversial (Hargo). It was and still is not uncommon to see dress codes in both work and school environments reprimanding natural or historical Black hair styles. Brenda A. Randle of Arkansas University writes, “I remember, several people (friends, family, associates, and colleagues) questioning why I, as a ‘professional’ woman, would want to wear my hair in such an ‘unruly’ state.” This is an experience shared by many members of the Black community. 

The history of Black hair is a deep and rich one. It begins with the complex styles worn in Africa as cultural and spiritual connections, followed by a major shift towards disguising the “Blackness” it held, and a current movement toward accepting one’s natural hair. Despite the conflicting feelings about what is acceptable hair and what is not, there is one thing that members of the Black community can agree on: from the 1500s to present day, it has always been more than just hair. 

Works Cited

Ellis-Hervey, Nina, et al. “African American Personal Presentation: Psychology of Hair and  Self-Perception.” Journal of Black Studies, vol. 47, no. 8, 2016, pp. 869–882. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26174232. Accessed 1 Oct. 2020.

Hargro, Brina. “Hair Matters: African American Women and the Natural Hair Aesthetic.” Thesis / Dissertation ETD, 2011. Accessed 1 Oct. 2020

Randle, Brenda A. “I Am Not My Hair: African American Women and Their Struggles with  Embracing Natural Hair!” Race, Gender, and Class, vol. 22, no. 1-2, 2015, pp. 114–121. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26505328. Accessed 1 Oct. 2020.

Thompson, Cheryl. “Black Women, Beauty, and Hair as a Matter of Being.” Women’s Studies 38 (2009): 831 – 856. Accessed 1 Oct. 2020