Styles and the Perception of Afro Hair - A Journey Through Time

Colonization and slavery changed and destroyed a lot of Black culture, including hair culture. That's why we think it's important to dig into the roots and history of Afro hair culture - to reclaim a piece of the culture that was lost.

3000 BCE: Ancient Egypt

Interestingly, the hairstyles back then were similar to today's. From locs to braided plaits, twists, short natural hair, and wigs - it was all there. The elite at the time stood out with higher-quality styles, like more expensive wigs.

By the way, even back then women wanted to boost their hair growth. A popular go-to was castor oil.

600 CE: Kingdom of Benin (today's southwestern Nigeria)

Benin Bronzes from the former Kingdom of Benin show the most breathtaking variations of hairstyles, which represented one's social position. Wood and ivory combs were used for detangling. Like shells and gold jewelry, they were worn as hair decoration. Charcoal and palm oil were used to boost hair growth and keep the hair a deep black.

1500: Colonization and slavery

A dark chapter begins for the African continent. That chapter still has devastating effects on hair culture today. Racism and Eurocentric beauty ideals destroyed the standing of Afro hair. On top of that, the exploitation of Black people meant there was no time left to keep familiar hairstyles alive.

1800/1900: Liberation/Independence

After slavery and colonies ended, there was at first no hair care industry for natural Black hair. Chemical straightening was especially popular - depending on what you could afford, hair was also worn short or in cornrows, or covered with headscarves.

The still-hard life, marked by poverty and bad working conditions, took its toll on health. Sadly, scalp diseases weren't uncommon either.

1890s: Madam C.J. Walker

Madam C. J. Walker is in the Guinness Book of Records as the first self-made female millionaire in the US. The African American was one of the first to develop natural products for Afro hair and revolutionized the African American hair care industry. Madam C.J. Walker and like-minded successors raised awareness around using products for Afro hair that nourish hair and scalp rather than damage them. You'll find the inspiring story in this blog post of ours.

1920s: Trends from France

Inspired by French fashion, short bobs were the trend for women. Black women also picked up on it and used hot metal combs (pressing combs/hot combs) to straighten their hair. Many Afro hair salons built their services around it.

1930s: Rastafari

The Rastafari social and religious movement was founded as a protest against the British colonial system in Jamaica. For Rastafari, dreadlocks are an important part of their identity.

The best-known face of the movement was probably Jamaican reggae singer Bob Marley, whose worldwide success in the 1970s also made the Rastafari movement and dreadlocks more popular.

1960s/1970s: Cicely Tyson and the civil rights movement

The Harlem-born African American actress shocked viewers in 1962 with a TV appearance (the series "East Side/West Side") - simply because she wore her hair natural. At that point, Black women were only seen with straightened hair or wigs in the media. She made another statement in 1972 with cornrows in the film "Sounder."

Over the course of her career, Cicely Tyson won the Tony, the Emmy, and an honorary Oscar, and consistently advocated for the acceptance of Afro hair in all its many forms.

The civil rights movement gaining momentum in the US at the same time also triggered a new shift in how Black people saw their hair. You'll find more on this in another blog post of ours.

From the 1980s: emancipation from the Eurocentric influence

From the 1980s on, natural Afro hairstyles become more and more popular. Here are a few well-known examples: high/flat top fades in the hip-hop scene and on Grace Jones, box braids on Janet Jackson, the Afros of Kelis and Macy Gray, the Natural Hair Movement on social media, Solange's anthem "Don't touch my hair," the countless style variations of Erykah Badu and Issa Rae.

At the same time, awareness around harmful ingredients in Afro hair products grows - things like chemicals, silicones, and alcohols.

More and more, Black people no longer want to fight against their hair, but want to embrace the benefits of their natural texture and wear their hair with pride in all its cultural variations.

The main source for this article was the book "The Story of Afro Hair" by K.N. Chimbiri. We highly recommend it. With beautiful illustrations, it covers 5,000 years of Afro hair history, trends, and styles.