History of Iconic Black Hairstyles.

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Bantu Knots
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Another hairstyle, still popular today, with rich African roots are Bantu knots. Bantu universally translates to “people” among many African languages, and is used to categorize over 400 ethnic groups in Africa. These knots are also referred to as Zulu knots because the Zulu people of South Africa, a Bantu ethnic group, originated the hairstyle. The look also goes by the name of Nubian knots.

Cornrows
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Cornrows were named for their visual similarity to cornfields. Africans wore these tight braids laid along the scalp as a representation of agriculture, order and a civilized way of life. These type of braids have served many purposes, from an everyday convenience to a more elaborate adornment meant for special occasions. Other braided styles such as box braids connect back to the eembuvi braids of the Mbalantu women in Namibia.

Dreadlocks
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In the 1920s, Jamaica born Marcus Garvey began a black nationalist movement in America to spread his belief that all black people should return to their rightful homeland of Africa. Early Rastas were reluctant to cut their hair due to the Nazarite vow in the Bible. Tensions started to build regarding debates on whether to comb these locs. In the 1950s, a faction within the Rastafari movement, the Youth Black Faith, rebelled against any visual signs of conformity, and split into the “House of Dreadlocks” and “House of Combsomes.”

Afros and the Natural Hair Movement
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With the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and ‘70s, came the rise of the natural hair movement that encouraged black communities to accept their hair and turn away from damaging products. The notion of conforming to European standards did not fit with their message of black power. Sporting these natural styles was its own form of activism, and seen as a statement in reclaiming their roots.

Intricate Braids

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Braids were used to signify marital status, age, religion, wealth, and rank within West African communities. Nigerian housewives in polygamous relationships created the style known as kohin-sorogun, meaning “turn your back to the jealous rival wife,” that had a pattern that when seen from behind was meant to taunt their husbands’ other wives. If a young girl of Senegal’s Wolof people was not of marrying age, she would have to shave her head a certain way, while men of this same group would braid their hair a particular way to show preparation for war and therefore the preparation for death.

Twisted Locks
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Dreadlocks have often been perceived as a hairstyle associated with 20th century Jamaican and Rastafarian culture, one of the earliest known recordings of the style has been found in the Hindu Vedic scriptures. In its Indian origins, the “jaTaa”, which means “wearing twisted locks of hair,” was a hairstyle worn by many of the figures written about 2,500 years ago.

Jheri Curl
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The Jheri curl provided a glossy curly style that became uniquely iconic in its time. The name comes from its inventor, Jheri Redding. In the 1970s, Jheri Redding Products created a two-step chemical process that first softened the hair, then sprang it up into curls.

Shape-Ups and Fade
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Black barber shops around the U.S. had perfected the fade but the ‘80s allowed them to blossom with more forms of creativity. Afros were shaped up with the sides cut short for a hi-top fade, and cornrows were braided in with flairs of individuality.
 
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