Before Slavery
The ancient Egyptians were among one of the first people to record rockin’ natural hairstyles. Drawings of government officials wearing braids were found in the tombs of Akhethotep. Back then, braided hairstyles were used to symbolize stature and social hierarchy within any given community—the more intricate the braiding design, the higher up the social food chain. Even back in the day, our hair was our crown and glory!
Single women wore a vastly different hairstyle than that of a married woman. For example, females in the African Wolof tribe (in modern Senegal and The Gambia) partially shaved their heads to signify that the young woman is single and ready to mingle.
Between 1600-1800 our ancestors were captured and kidnapped, removed from Africa, and forced into American slavery. Both men and women were made to feel anything but human. The word ‘wool’ was used to describe the hair of the enslaved people, and not in the same way that Saint John described the way Jesus’ hair appeared in the book of Revelations, “white, like white wool, like snow” to help tell Jesus’ God-like appearance.
Oh no, not in that way at all!
Instead, it was used to describe how animalistic Africans were, which meant that they were deserving of inhumane treatment.
During Slavery
By the 1700s, many enslaved Africans would begin to style their hair in the same way that their white European captives did, wearing wigs and sometimes styling those wigs to create their hairstyles, which, in turn, upset the slave owners, because how dare these people to try to look cute.
Oh no, they had to shut that shit down! So, what was the solution to this ‘newfound’ self-care problem? Abuse and punishment, of course. Enslaved people should not have enough time to pay attention to the way they looked. That meant they had too much time on their hands. Besides, who cares about the way you looked, you’re a slave, no doubt, and you have no time to build your self-esteem.
And, if you grew hair that was nice enough to draw your master’s attention your way, no worries, his wife will gladly cut all those beautiful wool-like tresses off! Or, depending on where you lived, you had the privilege of wearing your hair bound in a kerchief so that it is always covered. We see this look in a famous picture of Harriet Tubman.
After Slavery
Between 1902 and 1920, three incredible women significantly impacted African American lives with their glorious visions.
Annie Minerva Pope Turnbo-Malone was the first African American female to own her product line, Poro Products. She developed her scalp and hair products and sold them throughout Illinois. She taught others how to sell her products door-to-door. Eventually, Pope would open a school and complex-valued at over 1 million dollars, providing training in cosmetology and sales employing almost 200 people. One of those people was Sarah Breedlove, aka Madam C. J. Walker.
Madam C. J. Walker first started as a sales agent. Inspired by Pop-Turnbo Malone, Walker created her hair care line of hair preparation cream, hair loss prevention tonics, and tools to manage hair. She also trained thousands of African Americans in door-to-door sales and inspired others to build their economic wealth and freedom. Walker currently holds the Guinness World Record as the first-ever self-made millionaires. According to Guinness, her assets were worth over $1 million, equal to $14.9 million today!
Inspired by Madam C. J. Walker…
Madame Sarah Spencer Washington entered the beauty profession despite her family’s objections. Studying cosmetology in Philly, she developed a strong love for chemistry product development which led her to create the Apex system. This new system would help African American women straighten their hair. She would go on to open a school using the name Madam Sarah Spencer Washington. During the day, she taught cosmetology, and at night she sold her product door-to-door. Spencer then started the largest black-owned business, Apex News and Hair Company, and opened 12 beauty colleges in 12 states. The company was worth $500,000 by the mid-1940s. Madam Sarah Spencer Washington also went on to become one of the first African American millionaires!
Yass! Way to go! Onward and Upward, ladies!
Straightening it out – The birth of ‘good hair.’
Although African Americans made great strides in the beauty industry, the struggle was still accurate. The notion that black hair was terrible hair deemed unattractive and needed to be fixed was still strong.
Instead, beauty was long silky hair like that of white people. White supremacists set this precedent, and after slavery, the same ideal would remain intact.
In 1900, Annie Pope-Turnbo Malone patented modifications of the hot comb, which had been out since the 1880s, but was used mainly by white women. Madam C. J. Walker further improved the hot comb and made it famous.
Taking ‘good hair’ one step further
Contrary to popular belief, Madam C. J. Walker did not invent the perm. A tailor by the name of Garrett Augustus Morgan Sr. first discovered that the liquid he used to prevent the needles from scorching the fabric as it was sewed in the machine could also straighten wooly fibers, so he tested it out on a neighbor’s dog and his own hair and was successful. He went on to produce a cream that straightens tightly coiled hair, and as a result, G. A. Morgan Hair Refining Company was born. By the late 1940s and 1950s, home kits for perms were invented.
A Change of Attitude? – The Civil Rights Movement
As the Civil Rights Movement grow, so did the recognition of African Americans’ natural beauty. In the 1960s, college students all over the country began to wear their hair in Afros. These women faced criticism but chose to ignore the looks and comments. Political activists also began to wear their hair in afros, and the Black Power Movement gained popularity in America. Black people of all ages started to grow their natural hair into afros in solidarity with the movement. Still, like many other hair trends, the Afro did not last long, and by the 1970s and 1980, the Jheri Curl made its mark on the African American hair scene. And, of course, the popularity of chemically straightened hair still remained.
But by the 1980s, the term ‘good hair’ meant something entirely different. ‘Good hair’ started to tell healthy hair. The art of braid became popular and was incorporated into a standard of beauty for men and women. Then, in the 1990s, the controversy over locs began to die down and began to gain popularity.
Present Day (2000-present)
Black women and men rock all types of hairstyles, from braids to dreadlocks (locs), long neon blonde wigs and weave, or headwraps. More and more females are transitioning from chemically relaxed hair to natural. Our newfound awareness of natural beauty has grown tremendously over the years, and women are now falling in love with their natural hair like never before!
I am genuinely grateful for it because my personal belief is that all hair is beautiful, and your hair is ‘good’ hair just the way it is.