Afro-textured hair is a term used to refer to the natural texture of Black African hair that has not been altered by hot combs, flat irons, or chemicals (through perming, relaxing, or straightening).

Each strand of this hair type grows in a tiny spring-like, helix shape. The overall effect is such that, despite relatively fewer actual hair shafts compared to straight hair,^[1] this texture appears (and feels) denser than its straight counterparts.

For several reasons, possibly including its relatively flat cross section (among other factors^[2]), this hair type also conveys a dry or matte appearance.^[3][4] Its unique shape also renders it very prone to breakage when combed or brushed.^[4] The members of many post-Columbian Western societies have typically used adjectives such as "kinky", "nappy", or "spiralled" to describe natural afro-textured hair. More recently, however, it has become common (in some circles) to apply numerical grading systems to human hair types. One particularly popular version of these systems describes afro-hair as being 'type 4' (as opposed to the straight type 1, wavy type 2 and curly type 3); with the subcategory of type 4C being the most exemplary of the afro texture (Walker, 1997) But, it should also be said that afro-textured hair is difficult to categorize because of the many different variations it has from person to person. Those variations include pattern (coils, springs, zig zags, s-curves), pattern size (watch spring to chalk), density (sparse to dense), strand diameter (fine, medium, wide) and feel (cottony, wooly, spongy).^[5]

Terminology[link]

Afro-textured hair is sometimes referred to as "kinky hair", as well as "coarse", "woolly" or "thick" though these may be considered by some to be pejorative terms. Not to be mistaken with "Nappy Hair" a term for un-textured hair.^{[citation needed]} It is also sometimes described as "coily", "kinky-coily", or "kinky-curly".^{[citation needed]} In some English-speaking countries, because this hair-type is often straightened with chemical relaxers, unaltered Afro-textured hair is referred to as "natural hair".^{[citation needed]}

Structure[link]

There are differences across ethnicity in the structure, density, and growth rate of hair. With regards to structure, all human hair has the same basic chemical composition in terms of keratin protein content.^[6] However, Franbourg et al. have found that Black hair may differ in the distribution of lipids throughout the hair shaft.^[6] Afro-texture hair was not as densely concentrated as other phenotypes.^[1] Specifically, the average density of Afro-textured hair was found to be approximately 190 hairs per square centimeter. This was significantly lower than that of Caucasian hair, which, on average, produces approximately 227 hairs per square centimeter.^[1]

Further, Loussourarn found that Afro-textured hair grows at an average rate of approximately 256 micrometers per day, while Caucasian hair grows at approximately 396 micrometers per day.^[1][7] In addition, due to a phenomenon called 'shrinkage', Afro-textured hair that is a given length when stretched straight can appear much shorter when allowed to naturally coil upon itself.^[8] Shrinkage is most evident when Afro-hair is (or has recently been) wet.^[8]

Afro-textured hair's tightly curled nature comes from the curvature of the follicles from which it grows. While straight hair follicles cause hair to grow straight, curved follicles cause hair to grow curly.^[9]

The shape of the hair shaft is also greatly affected by the shape of the hair follicle. The roundest follicles grow straight hair and the flattest follicles grow ribbon-like, Afro-textured hair. These "biological factories" function as molds, giving the hair its shape from the moment it is manufactured. Being a biologically dead material, the hair fiber subsequently keeps this original shape.

A hair's shape is never completely circular. The cross-section of a hair is an ellipse which can tend towards a circle or be distinctly flattened. An analogy with other materials shows how this cross-section influences the appearance of the hair in space: a virtually flat ribbon rolls up much more easily than a cylindrical length of string.

It will not be surprising then to know that Asiatic heads of straight hair are formed from almost-round hairs and Caucasian hair's cross sections form oval shapes. Afro-textured hair has a flattened cross-section and is finer, and its ringlets can form tight circles with diameters of only a few millimeters.

These general points should not make us forget that a hair, of whatever sort, is never totally consistent in size throughout its entire length. In this respect, Asiatic hair can be observed as being the most common while Afro-textured hair is the most uncommon.^[10]

Afro-textured hair strands can also possess "torsion twists", where the hair strand turns around itself. This can be felt as a permanent crimp. The simplest analogy would be the wringing of a cloth where you turn one side clockwise and the other anti-clockwise. These torsion twists may prevent the hair strands from "clumping" together into curls, instead separating them and allowing them to have a fluffier, more undefined look. ^[9]

Evolution[link]

Afro-textured hair may have initially evolved because of an adaptive need (amongst humanity's hominid ancestors) for protection against the intense UV radiation of Africa.^{[citation needed]} Subsequently (and/or additionally), because the relatively sparse density of Afro-hair, combined with its elastic helix shape, results in an airy effect, the resulting increased circulation of cool air onto the scalp may have served to facilitate our hominid ancestors' body-temperature-regulation while they lived in the open savannah.^{[citation needed]} Further, Afro-hair does not respond as easily to moisture/sweat as straight hair. Thus, instead of sticking to the neck and scalp when wet (as do straighter textures), unless totally drenched, it tends to retain its basic springy puffiness, if it is combed.^{[citation needed]} In this sense, in addition to the above-listed causes, the trait may have also been retained/preferred among many equatorial human groups because of its contribution to enhanced comfort levels under warm conditions.^{[citation needed]} Finally, sexual selection based on visual and/or tactile socio-aesthetics may have also and/or further contributed to this trait's ubiquity in certain regions.^{[citation needed]}

History[link]

Continental Africa[link]

Young girls from Grand-Bassam, Ivory Coast, 1869

Historically, afro-textured hairstyles were used to define status, or identity, in regards to age, ethnicity, wealth, social rank, marital status, religion, fertility, manhood, and even death. Hair was carefully groomed by those who understood the aesthetic standard as the social implications of hair grooming was a significant part of community life. Dense, thick, clean and neatly groomed hair was something highly admired and sought after. Hair groomers possessed unique styling skills allowing them to create a variety of designs that met the local cultural standards. Hair worn in its loose state was not the norm, and usually left the impression that an individual was filthy, mentally unstable or in mourning.

Communities across the continent invented diverse ways of styling afro-textured hair. It was common practice for the head female of the household to groom her family's hair, teaching her craft to her daughters. In some cases, an elder would facilitate the transfer of hair grooming skills seeing that many members of her family inherited and mastered the craft.

In many traditional cultures communal grooming was a social event where a woman could socialize and strengthen bonds between herself, other women and their families. Historically, hair braiding was not a paid trade, although it has evolved into a multi-million dollar business in places like the United States and Europe. An individual's hair groomer was usually someone whom they knew closely. Sessions included shampooing, oiling, combing, braiding, twisting adding accessories. For shampooing black soap was widely used in places like West and Central Africa. Additionally palm oil and palm kernel oil were also popularly used for oiling the scalp. Shea butter has also been traditionally used to moisturize and dress the hair with a yellow variety being popular in West Africa, and a white variety in East Africa. In North Africa Argan Oil was applied to the hair and/or scalp for protection against the arid environment and intense sun. Hair grooming of afro-textured hair was considered a very important, intimate, spiritual part of one's overall wellness, and would last hours and, sometimes, days depending on the hair style and skill required. Diversity in, and experimentation with, afro-textured hair styles was the norm up until the European slave trade, and the height of the Arab Slave Trade, penetrated sub-Saharan Africa.^[11]

Oceanic, Asian, Polynesian and Melanesian people[link]

Traditional Fijian hair dressing

The United States[link]

Trans-Atlantic slave trade[link]

Diasporic Africans in the Americas have been experimenting with ways to style their hair since their arrival in the Western Hemisphere well before the 19th century. During the approximately 400 years of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade that forcibly extracted over 20 million people from their indigenous homes, chaining them to sell as human capital, the beauty ideals pertaining to their own natural hair changed drastically. The visibility, and pride, seen in pre-colonial Africa regarding the afro-hair texture became sparse. Imported slaves were mostly young, generally between the ages of 10 and 24. Upon arrival to the Americas, slaves lacked the skills, tools and ability to meet local aesthetic standards. The issue was most particular to women. Furthermore, there was no time for hair grooming as slave masters worked their subjects 12–15 hours a day, 7 days a week. The barbaric and desperate social climate left slaves with little concern for grooming and personal well-being. The carefully crafted combs and tools available for hair grooming in their homeland were no where to be found in the new world. American slaves wore matted and tangled locks, instead of the well maintained, long, thick and healthy tresses worn by their brethren left in Africa.

To resolve this, slaves began using sheep fleece carding tools to detangle their hair which resulted in widespread scalp diseases such as lice and dandruff. Slaves invented remedies for disinfecting and cleansing their scalp such as applying kerosine or cornmeal directly on the scalp with a cloth as they carefully parted through the hair. In the fields, male slaves shaved their hair and wore hats to protect their scalps against the sun; female slaves wore scarves and handkerchiefs. The aesthetic norm for house slaves was to appear neat and clean. The men sometimes wore wigs mimicking their white masters, and even wore hairstyles resembling theirs, while the women plaited and braided their hair. Women with long and/or wavy hair were prone to becoming objects of jealousy by the master's wife and were often forced to cut their hair, making them look less feminine.

When the 19th century arrived, new laws were passed that enabled slaves to set aside Sunday as a day for attending church, socializing, and styling each others hair. The women, who wore their hair bound in cotton rollers all week, would remove their scarves, allowing their curls to hang past their shoulders. With more time to spend on hair grooming, slaves further invented and evolved their techniques. Men began using axle grease to straighten and dye their hair. Cooking grease such as lard, butter, and goose grease were used to moisturize the hair. A hot butter knife was sometimes used, afterwards, by female slaves to add curls to their locks.

Overloaded with the suggestion that straight hair was more acceptable than natural, kinky/curly hair textures, slaves and freedmen began exploring solutions for straightening, or relaxing, their tresses. One toxic solution was a mixture of lye and potato which burned the scalp upon contact. Among whites and African-Americans alike, those with lighter skin and 'straighter' hair textures were better embraced socially, and were offered the luxury of upward mobility. Afro-textured hair was often referred to as 'wool', along with darker skin tones, this physical characteristic was generally seen as something bad that 'needed to be fixed'. During the mid-19th century afro-textured hair was basically outlawed in New Orleans. While in public, African-American women with kinkier hair textures were to cover their hair with a scarf.

Abolition of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade[link]

After the 1860s some African-Americans continued to straighten their hair in order to conform with white beauty ideals. In early Euro-American society, black women adopted the social behavior of their white counterparts in order to thrive, or merely to avoid mistreatment and legal and social discrimination. Some women, and a smaller number of men, lightened their hair with household bleach. A variety of caustic products that contained bleaches, including laundry bleach, designed to resolve afro-textured hair, became available following emancipation (between the late 1890s and the early 20th century). More prevalent became the use of creams and lotions, combined with hot irons, in order to straighten the hair.

The black hair care industry was initially dominated by white-owned businesses. Entrepreneurs Annie Turbo Malone, Madam C. J. Walker, Madam Gold S.M. Young, Sara Spencer Washington and Garrett Augustus Morgan revolutionized African American hair care by inventing and marketing chemical (and heat-based) applications to alter the natural tightly curled texture. In 1898, Anthony Overton founded a hair care company that offered saponified coconut shampoo and AIDA hair pomade. Men began using pomades, and other products, to achieved the standard aesthetic look.

During the 1930s, conking (vividly described in "The Autobiography of Malcolm X") became an innovative method in the U.S. for Black men to straighten kinky hair. Women at that time tended to either wear wigs, or to hot-comb their hair (rather than conk it) in order to temporarily mimic the same straight style without permanently altering the natural curl pattern. Popular until the 1960s, the conk hair style were achieved via the application of a painful lye, egg and potato mixture that was toxic and immediately burned the scalp.

Black-owned business in the hair industry secured jobs for thousands of African-Americans. These business owners gave back heavily to the African-American community. During this time hundreds of African-Americans began owning successful beauty salons and barber shops offering permanent and hair-straightening as well as cutting and styling services. Media images conditioned to perpetuate European beauty ideals, even among African-Americans represented. African-Americans began sponsoring their own beauty events, with the winners, wearing straight hair styles, adorned various black magazines and product advertisements. Portrayal of traditional African hair styles, such as braids and cornrows, in the media was associated with African-Americans who were poor and lived in rural areas.^[11][12]

It has been debated whether hair straightening practices arose out of a desire to conform to a Eurocentric standard of beauty. Supporters of the second process believe that the same prejudice that viewed lighter skin as preferable to darker, held that straight or wavy hair (i.e. "good" hair) was preferable to tightly curled hair, and that this prejudice originated not from African Diasporic peoples but from European slaveholders and colonizers as part of the rhetoric used to support slavery and racially-based social class stratifications. Some claim that the dominant prejudice for Eurocentric ideas of beauty pervades the western world.^[13] Further, the tendency to judge people, especially women, based upon their physical appearance speaks to the fact that this issue is especially poignant for African American females. In other words, it is a clear example of an inherent, interlocking conflict that Black women face with Western norms that involves both race (i.e. the fact that the natural afro-hair texture of sub-Saharan African descended peoples deviates starkly from the global 'norm'), and gender (i.e. the fact that the disproportionately strong need for women to be physically 'beautiful' is heavily marketed to all Westerners, and is thus reinforced by men (and women) of all races).

The rise of Black pride[link]

The civil rights movement and black power and pride movements of the 1960s and 1970s in the U.S. created an impetus for African Americans to express their political commitments and self-love by the wearing of fairly long, natural hair. This contributed to the emergence of the Afro hairstyle into American mainstream culture, as an affirmation of Black African heritage, that "black is beautiful," and a rejection of Eurocentric standards of beauty. It has been used in songs, as a symbol of Black African heritage, notably in I Wish by Stevie Wonder. By the 1970s natural hair had evolved into a popular hairstyle.

Over the years, the popularity of natural hair has waxed and waned. Today, a significant percentage of African American women elect to straighten their hair with relaxers of some kind (either heat or chemically based). This is done despite the fact that prolonged application of such chemicals (or heat) can result in overprocessing, breakage and thinning of the hair.

Nonetheless, over the past decade or so, natural hair has once again increased in popularity with the emergence of styles such as cornrows, locks, braiding, twists and short, cropped hair, most of which originated in Ancient Africa. With the emergence of hip-hop culture and Jamaican influences like reggae music, more non-blacks have begun to wear these hairstyles as well. There has been a boom in marketing hair products such as "Out of Africa" shampoo to African American consumers. Slogans that promote a pan-Black African appreciation of Afro-textured hair include "Happy to be nappy", "Sta Sof Fro", "Nubian Heritage", "Don't worry, be nappy," as well as "Love, peace and nappiness."^{[citation needed]}

Controversy over natural Afro-textured hair in the United States[link]

Although there has been a reemergence in the popularity of natural Afro-textured hair, it is still widely perceived by African-American women that straight hair is viewed as more professional. Women who feel pressured to straighten their hair for reasons related to this perception cite the fact that many high-profile professional Black women still straighten their hair.^[14] There are, of course, very prominent exceptions, including: Ursula Burns, the first Black CEO of a Fortune 500 company and Leah Ward Sears, the first Black Chief Justice of a state court in the United States.

In 1971 Melba Tolliver, a WABC-TV correspondent, made national headlines when she wore an afro while covering the wedding of Tricia Nixon Cox, daughter of President Richard Nixon. The station threatened to take Tolliver off of the air until the story caught national attention.^[15]

In 1981 Dorothy Reed, a reporter for KGO-TV, the ABC affiliate in San Francisco, was suspended for wearing her hair in cornrows with beads on the ends. KGO called her hairstyle "inappropriate and distracting." After two weeks of a public dispute, an NAACP demonstration outside of the station, and negotiations, Reed and the station reached an agreement. The company paid her lost salary and she removed the colored beads. She returned to the air, still braided, but beadless.^[16]

A 1998 incident became national news when Ruth Ann Sherman, a teacher in Bushwick, Brooklyn, introduced her students to the book Nappy Hair by African American author Carolivia Herron. Sherman, who is white, was criticized by parents of black children, who thought that the book presented a negative stereotype.^[17]

On Wednesday, April 4, 2007 radio talk-show host Don Imus referred to the Rutgers University women's basketball team playing in the Women's NCAA Championship game as a group of "nappy-headed hos" during his Imus in the Morning show. Bernard McGuirk then compared the game to "the jigaboos versus the wannabes," alluding to Spike Lee's film School Daze. Imus apologized two days later, after receiving criticism. CBS Radio canceled Don Imus' morning show on Thursday, April 12, 2007.

During August 2007, American Lawyer Magazine reported that an unnamed junior Glamour Magazine staffer did a presentation on the "Dos and Don'ts of Corporate Fashion" for Cleary Gottlieb, a New York City law firm. There was a slide show where the woman made negative remarks about black women's natural hairstyles in the workplace, calling them "shocking," "inappropriate," and "political." Both the law firm and Glamour Magazine issued apologies to the staff.^[18][19] However, natural afro hair texture continues to be an issue in US workplaces.^[20]

In 2009, Chris Rock produced Good Hair, a film which addresses a number of issues pertaining to African American hair, including the styling industry surrounding it, the acceptable look of African American women's hair in society, and the effects of both upon African American culture.

Natural black hair in other diasporic black populations[link]

See Main Article: Rastafari Movement

Natural black hair styling[link]

Because of the highly politicized nature of natural black hair in the United States of America and the intersectional pressures faced by black women in particular, the care and styling of natural black hair has become an enormous industry. Throughout the United States, there are a number of salons and beauty supply stores that cater solely to clients with natural afro-textured hair. Online forums, social networking groups and web-logs have also become enormously popular resources for Blacks in the exchange of styling ideas, techniques, and hair-care procedures.

There are a number of specific hair-styles that are commonplace in the canon of styles for natural Black hair, many the result of the experimentation of African slaves in the Western colonies. The afro is a large, often spherical growth of afro-textured hair popular in the Black power movement. The afro has a number of variants including the "afro-puff" and a variant in which the afro is treated with a blow dryer to become a flowing mane. The hi-top fade was common among African-American men in the 1980s and has since been replaced in popularity by the Caesar hair cut. Other styles include plaits or braids, the two-strand twist and basic twists all of which can form into manicured dreadlocks if the hair is allowed to knit together in the style-pattern. Basic twists include finger-coils and comb-coil twists. Dreadlocks, also called "dreads," "locks" or "locs," can also be formed by allowing the hairs to weave together on their own from an afro. Another option is Sisterlocks. Originated in 1993 by JoAnne Cornwell, Sisterlocks - a trademark company - promotes not just a hairstyle, but a healthy hair lifestyle. Sisterlocks use a special locking technique with natural hair. In appearance, they look similar to what could be called very neat micro-dreadlocks. Wearers can wash and go, and they can roller-set, curl, and style their hair without using chemicals to change its texture.^[21]

Manicured locks - alternatively called salon, or fashion locks - alone have a large variety of styling options that involve strategic parting, sectioning and patterning of the dreads. Popular dreadlocked styles include cornrows, the braid-out style or lock crinkles, the basket weave and pipe-cleaner curls. Others include a variety of dreaded mohawks or lock-hawks, a variety of braided buns and combinations of basic style elements.

Natural hair can also be styled into bantu knots, which involves sectioning the hair with square or triangular parts and fastening it into tight knots on the head. Bantu knots can be made from both loose natural hair as well as dreadlocks. When braided flat against the scalp, natural hair can be worn as basic cornrows or form a countless variety of artistic patterns.

Other styles include the "natural" (also known as a mini-fro or "teenie weenie afro") and "microcoils" for close-cropped hair, the twist-out and braid-out, "brotherlocks" and "Sisterlocks," the fade and any combination of styles such as cornrows and afro-puff.

It is important to note that an overwhelming majority of Black hair styles involve parting the natural into individual sections before styling.^[22] Research shows that excessive braiding, tight cornrows, relaxing and vigorous dry combing of afro-textured hair can be harmful to the hair and scalp. They have also been known to cause ailments such as alopecia, balding at the edges, excessive dry scalp and bruises on the scalp.

Keeping hair moisturized, trimming ends, and using very little to no heat will prevent breakage and split ends which are all important for the care of natural and even relaxed hair.

See also[link]

• Afro
• Alopecia
• Conk
• Cornrows
• Dreadlocks
• Hair iron
• Hair straightening
• Hair weave
• Hi-top fade
• Hot comb
• Jheri curl
• Natural hair
• Nubian wig
• Relaxer
• Waves (hairstyle)

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Bundles, A'Lelia Perry (2001). On her own ground: the life and times of Madam C. J. Walker. New York: Scribner. ISBN 978-0-684-82582-3. OCLC 44548979. 
• Craig, Maxine Leeds (2002). Ain't I a beauty queen?: black women, beauty, and the politics of race. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-514267-9. OCLC 47995928. 
• Chaubey G, Metspalu M, Kivisild T, Villems R (January 2007). "Peopling of South Asia: investigating the caste-tribe continuum in India". BioEssays 29 (1): 91–100. DOI:10.1002/bies.20525. PMID 17187379. 
• Interview by Dr Victoria Holloway-Barbosa from the definitive award-winning documentary on Black Hair called"My Nappy ROOTS: A journey through Black HAir-itage".
• Irons, Meghan (January 2008). "Sisterlocks – Keeping it Natural Not Nappy Headed". http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/01/06/black_women_find_freedom_with_new_do/?page=1. Retrieved 05 March 2012. 
• Kivisild T, Rootsi S, Metspalu M, et al. (February 2003). "The Genetic Heritage of the Earliest Settlers Persists Both in Indian Tribal and Caste Populations". American Journal of Human Genetics 72 (2): 313–32. DOI:10.1086/346068. PMC 379225. PMID 12536373. //www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=379225. 
• Quintana-Murci L, Chaix R, Wells RS, et al. (May 2004). "Where West Meets East: The Complex mtDNA Landscape of the Southwest and Central Asian Corridor". American Journal of Human Genetics 74 (5): 827–45. DOI:10.1086/383236. PMC 1181978. PMID 15077202. //www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=1181978. 
• Tishkoff SA, Dietzsch E, Speed W, et al. (March 1996). "Global patterns of linkage disequilibrium at the CD4 locus and modern human origins". Science 271 (5254): 1380–7. DOI:10.1126/science.271.5254.1380. PMID 8596909. 
• Template:Walker, A (1997) 'Andre Talks Hair' Simon and Schuster, NY

Look up nappy, kink, coil, curly, or frizzy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Afro-textured hair

This article is about human hair. For other uses, see Longhair (disambiguation) or Hair

Boy with shoulder length hair on a beach in Melanesia.

Long hair is a hairstyle. Exactly what constitutes long hair can change from culture to culture, or even within cultures. For example, a woman with chin-length hair in some cultures may be said to have short hair, while a man with the same length of hair in some of the same cultures would be said to have long hair.

Scientists view long hair as playing a large part in natural selection among many species, since long, thick and healthy hair or fur is frequently a sign of fertility and youth.^[1] As hair grows slowly, long hair reveals several years of a person's health status and reproductive fitness. Hair length is significantly correlated with female attractiveness, as rated by men as well as women.^[2] Hair length and quality can act as a cue to especially a woman's youth and health, signifying reproductive potential.^[3] The prevalence of trichophilia (hair partialism or fetischism) is 7% in the population, and very long hair is a common subject of devotion in this group.^[4][5]

Ways of life often viewed as more rigid, such as soldiers and religious cultures, often have explicit rules regarding hair length. For example, Buddhist monks shave their heads as part of their order of worship.^[6] Even outside religious structures, cultures often associate male long hair with ways of life outside of what is culturally accepted. Subservient cultures, for example, are sometimes detected by their rulers through hair length, as was the case with the Gaelic Irish under English rule and the Moors under Spanish rule in Medieval Spain.^[7]

Again, though, there are exceptions to these rules, notably among the long-haired and religiously devoted Nazarites of the Hebrew Bible (Samson being a famous example)^[8] and among the Sikhs.^[9]

East Asian cultures have traditionally seen long, unkempt hair in a woman as a sign of sexual intent or a recent sexual encounter, as usually their hair is tied up in styles such as the ponytail, plait, or any bun.^[10]

Transferred meaning[link]

The traditional connotation of "long hair" in English meant, roughly, someone artistically knowledgeable or wise, an aesthete.^[11] As a descriptive term, it has been applied to Merovingians and classical music enthusiasts, as well as hippies and aesthetes.^[11]

Hair lengths[link]

A Polish woman with hair reaching the mid-back

A Swedish male with waist-length hair

Painting of a woman with hair grown down to her hips, by Franz Xavier Winterhalter

Woman with knee-length braided hair

Hair length is measured (in centimeters or inches) from the line of the scalp on the forehead up over the highest point of the skull to its termination. In cosmetology, hair lengths are usually categorized according to the part of the body where the bulk of the longest hair terminates.^[12] Hair usually takes about two years to reach shoulder length,^[13] and at approximately 80–90 cm (32–36 inches) for most people, waist-length hair usually takes about seven years to grow, including occasional trims.^[12][13]

Maximum hair length[link]

The maximum hair length that is possible to reach is about 15 cm for infants (below the age of 1), about 60 cm for children (below the age of 13), and generally 100 cm for adults. Documentation for decrease of the maximum length with age cannot be found in the literature. Some individuals can reach excessive lengths. Lengths greater than 150 cm are frequently observed in long hair contests.^[14] Xie Qiuping had the longest documented hair in the world, measuring 5.627 m (18 ft 5.54 in) in May 2004.^[15]

The maximum terminal hair length depends on the length of the anagen (period of hair growth) for the individual. Waist-length hair or longer is only possible to reach for people with long anagen. The anagen lasts between 2 and 7 years, for some individuals even longer, and follows by shorter catagen (transition) and telogen (resting) periods. Between 85% and 90% of the hair strains are in anagen.

Psychological significance[link]

Anthropologists speculate that the functional significance of long head hair may be adornment, a by-product of secondary natural selection once other androgenic/somatic hair (body hair) had largely been lost. Another possibility is that long head hair is a result of Fisherian runaway sexual selection, where long lustrous hair is a visible marker for a healthy individual. For some groups or individuals, however, short hair is the selected trait.^[1]

By seven to nine months, infants can tell the sexes apart based on hair length, voice pitch and faces.^[16][17]

Cultural history[link]

Hair is one of the most important ways humans have of presenting themselves, being one of the parts of their body which is easiest to manipulate. Also, males having short, cut hair (or a shaven head) is often viewed as being under society's control, such as while in military service or prison or as punishment for a crime, while males having long hair signifies being outside of the mainstream.^[18]

In Jewish and Christian scriptures[link]

In the Old Testament, the Nazirites would go for long periods of time without cutting their hair to show devotion to God.^[19] Samson is one example; his strength depended upon his refraining from cutting his hair.^[8] The New Testament says, "Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering,"^[20] something followed by women in some apostolic pentecostal denominations in some countries as an act of holiness.

Western culture[link]

Ancient Greece and Rome[link]

In ancient Greece, long male hair was a symbol of wealth and power, while a shaven head was appropriate for a slave. The ancient Greeks had several Gods and heroes who wore their hair long, including Zeus, Achilles, Apollo, and Poseidon. Greek soldiers are said to have worn their hair long in battle. Such warriors considered it a sign of aristocracy and are said to have combed it openly in order to show off. Also, in order to keep enemies from getting a hold of it in battle, they were known to cut the front short, but leave it long in the back, where it was more out of reach. A widely held alternative interpretation of the conventional belief that they cut it short in the front in order to keep their enemies from getting a hold of it during battle is that, they did not in fact cut it in the front, but rather tied it back in a style known as a pony tail in order to keep it out of their enemies' reach. The pony tail method allowed warriors, who often traveled to battle with a minimal amount of equipment in order to avoid excessively heavy loads over long marches, to keep their hair manageable with a small piece of string to hold their pony tail in place and a knife to cut the back to length with one simple slice. Around the sixth century, however, the Greek men shifted to shorter hairstyles, with the exception of the Spartans. Women in the culture remained with the longer style, which for them showed freedom, health, and wealth, as well as good behavior.^[21] In men, it was considered a sign of false pride by this time.^[22] Women in Roman times valued long hair, usually with a center part. Men's hair was usually shorter than women's, (but in the early times, the custom was quite the same as in Greece) although other cultures of the time, such as Greeks in the east, considered long hair to be typical of philosophers, who were thought to be too engrossed in learning to bother with hair.^[23] Strictly in the province of Rome, however the shorter hairstyle was especially popular.^[22] When Julius Caesar conquered the Gauls, who favored long hair, he ordered it to be cut short.^[24]

Middle Ages[link]

In the European middle ages, shorter hair often signified servitude and peasantry, while long hair was often attributed to freemen, as was the case with the Germanic Goths and Merovingians.

The Gaelic Irish (both men and women)^[25] took great pride in their long hair—for example, a person could be heavily fined for cutting a man's hair short against his will.^[26] When the Anglo-Normans and the English colonized Ireland, hair length came to signify one's allegiance. Irishmen who cut their hair short were deemed to be forsaking their Irish heritage. Likewise, English colonists who wore their hair long in the back were deemed to be forsaking their role as English subjects and giving in to the Irish life. Thus, hair length was one of the most common ways of judging a true Englishman in this period. Muslims in Christian areas were ordered to keep their hair short and parted, as their longer style was considered rebellious and barbaric.^[7]

Empress Elisabeth of Austria wearing thigh-length hair in 1865.

A long hair fad was widespread among English and French men in the 11th and 12th centuries, though otherwise it was considered, mostly because of endorsement of the Roman Catholic Church, proper for men to have shorter, and women, longer hair. The fad was largely brought about by monarchs who rejected the shorter hairstyle, causing the people to follow. Wulfstan, a religious leader, worried that those with longer hair would fight like women, and be unable to protect England from foreign invasion. This idea can be found in later military leaders as well, such as those of the American Confederacy.^[27] Knights and rulers would also sometimes cut or pull out their hair in order to show penitence and mourning, and a squire's hair was generally shorter than a knight's. Married women who let their hair flow out in public were frowned upon, as this was normally reserved for the unwed, although they were allowed to let it out in mourning, to show their distressed state. Through these centuries it was expected of Eastern Christians to wear long hair as well as long beards, which was especially expected from clergy and monks.

In England, during the English Civil Wars of 1642 to 1651, male hair length was emblematic of the disputes between Cavaliers and Roundheads (Puritans). Cavaliers wore longer hair, and were less religious-minded, thought of by the Roundheads as lecherous. The more devout Roundheads had short hair, although there were exceptions.^[6]

Recent meanings[link]

A man with waist length hair

Before World War One men generally had longer hair and beards. However, short hair on men has often been enforced as a mean of control, in police, military and other forces that require obedience and discipline. Slaves and defeated armies were often required to shave their heads. The trench warfare in 1914 to 1918 exposed men to flea and lice infestations, which prompted the order to cut short hair, establishing a norm that has persisted.^[12]

Beat poets during the 1950s wore longer hairstyles, as did many of the urban gay culture, although long hair was far from popular. By 1960, a small "beatnik" community in Newquay, Cornwall, England (including a young Wizz Jones) had attracted the attention and the abhorrence of their neighbors for growing their hair to a length past the shoulders, resulting in a television interview with Alan Whicker on BBC television's Tonight series.^[28] The 1960s also introduced The Beatles, who started a more widespread longer hair fad. The social revolution of the 1960s led to a renaissance of unchecked hair growth,^[12] and long hair, especially on men, was worn as a political or countercultural symbol or protest. This cultural symbol extended to several Western countries in the Americas, Western Europe, South Africa, and Australia.^[29] Specific long hairstyles such as dreadlocks have been part of counterculture movements seeking to define other alternative cultures and lifestyles since this time.^[10] Longer hair in general remained popular among the youth rebellion throughout the liberal decade of the 1960s.^[29] Homosexual men, many of whom had adopted a long hairstyle in the early 1950s, have largely abandoned this trend. Some people saw the long hair fad as a threat to gender identity, cultural, and religious norms as it grew with the spread of the hippie movement in the 1960s.^[29] Notably, some country-and-western performers during this period (and many fans) also sported longer hair.^[30][31]

In the 1970s, the popularity of Jamaica's reggae music and musician Bob Marley prompted interest in dreadlocks internationally. The anti-establishment philosophy of Rastafari, echoed in much of the reggae of the time, resonated with leaning youth of all ethnicities — especially and primarily among African Americans and other Blacks, but among counterculture whites as well.^[32] The Eastern Christians are encouraged to wear long hair with long beard. In the 1980s the view of long hair as a solitary signifier of political or counter-cultural identity was countered and parodied in films such as Rambo and many other militaristic heroes of media which challenged then-contemporary views of what was masculine.^[33] Today, longer hairstyles remain popular among rock enthusiasts.^[34] Long hair may be grown for the purpose of being donated to an organization, such as Locks of Love, for hairpieces to help those who could not have hair otherwise, such as those who are diagnosed with alopecia areata.

Women[link]

Women often have a stronger inclination towards long hair than men do. Younger women tend to have longer hair than older women. Hair length and quality can act as a cue to a woman's youth and health, signifying reproductive potential.^[35] Growing and wearing long hair was almost universal among women in the western world until World War One.^[12]

Sikhism[link]

The Sikhs were commanded by Guru Gobind Singh at the Baisakhi Amrit Sanchar in 1699 to wear long uncut hair called Kesh at all times. This was one of the 'five requisites of faith', collectively called Kakars that form the external visible identifiers to clearly affirm a Sikh's commitment and dedication to the order (Hukam) of the tenth master and made one a member of the Khalsa. The Khalsa is the "Saint-Soldier" of Guru Gobind Singh who stated the following: "He does not recognize anyone else except One Lord, not even the bestowal of charities, performance of merciful acts, austerities and restraint on pilgrim-stations; the perfect light of the Lord illuminates his heart, then consider him as the immaculate Khalsa." (Guru Gobind Singh in the Dasam Granth page 1350)

The Kesh or unshorn long hair is an indispensable part of the human body as created by Vaheguru that is the mainstay of the 'Jivan Jaach' and the Rehni that was prescribed by Guru Gobind Singh Sahib by which a Sikh is clearly and quickly identified, Kesh. The kanga, another requisite of faith is usually tucked behind the "Rishi Knot" and tied under the turban. The uncut long head hair and the beard in the case of men forms the main kakar for the Sikhs.

KESADHARI, a term defining a Sikh as one who carries on his head the full growth of his kes (hair) which he never trims or cuts for any reason. Anyone, Sikh or non-Sikh, may keep the hair unshorn, but for the Sikh kes, unshorn hair, is a requisite of faith and an inviolable vow. The Sikh Rahit Maryada published by the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, statutory body for the control and management of Sikh shrines and by extension for laying down rules about Sikh beliefs and practices, issued in 1945, after long and minute deliberations among Sikh scholars and theologians, defines a Sikh thus: Every Sikh who has been admitted to the rites of amrit, i.e. who has been initiated as a Sikh, must allow his hair to grow to its full length. This also applies to those born of Sikh families but [who] have not yet received the rites of amrit of the tenth master, Guru Gobind Singh. ".

Islam[link]

Transjordanian Bedouin with shoulder length hair, during World War II

In the Muslim world, it seems the trend of hair styles is now favouring short over long in men. In the past, Bedouin Muslims often wore their hair in long braids, but western influences brought on the view that such styles were feminine in nature. Now, Bedouins are much less likely to have long hair.^[36] Islamic countries in North Africa such as Egypt view long hair in men as homosexual and in one case the Egyptian police viewed it as satanic and a sign of an infidel^[37].

Muslims regard Prophet Muhammad as the best example to live by, and try to emulate him whenever possible. The Islamic Prophet Muhammad reportedly in Sahih Muslim had hair that "hung over his shoulders and earlobes".^[38] Sahih Bukhari, regarded the most authentic of hadith, also supports this using a prime example of the prophet Isa.^[39] The Prophet Muhammad has also described Jesus as "having long hair reaching his ear lobes."^[40] Malik's Muwatta 51.2.6 reported, Yahya related to me from Malik from Yahya ibn Said that Abu Qatada al-Ansari said to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "I have a lot of hair which comes down to my shoulders, shall I comb it? The Messenger of Allah. may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Yes, and honour it." Sometimes Abu Qatada oiled it twice in one day because the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to him. "Honour it."

With regards to women, neither Qur'an nor Sunnah explicitly state that women cannot cut their hair. Hadith does mention that women should not imitate men, and vice versa, and hence many scholars on this assumption, decree that women should let their hair grow longer than the hair of the Prophet, reaching beyond their shoulders, as hadith mentions that the Prophet had his hair between his shoulder and his earlobes. (He described Jesus's hair, which hung to his earlobes, as long.^[41])

However culturally, some Muslims are opposed to men having long hair as it is also important in Islam to have clear differences (in appearance) between sexes. And generally these cultures encourage women to have long hair and men to have short hair.^[42] The Taliban in Afghanistan viewed long hair for men as a western influence, and punished it by arrest and forced haircuts,^[43] albeit this would be a direct contradiction of the sunnah of the Prophet. Similar measures have been taken by Islamists in Iraq.^[44] In spite of this, several Taleban affiliated members of the Mehsud clan are recognisable by their long hair. The Saudi Islamist fighter Amir Khattab was also notable for his long hair. Dervishes of some Sufi orders, such as the Kasnazani, often have long hair and whirl it around during rituals.^[45]

Native Americans[link]

Yakima boy with mid-back level hair. (Photo by Edward S. Curtis, 1868–1952.)

Many Native American men wore long hair before the arrival of western influences on their culture or rather eastern influences for them. (In Cherokee legends, for example, males said to be handsome were often described as having "long hair almost to the ground" or similar formulas.^[46]). Both men and women of these cultures have frequently struggled to maintain their tradition, but have faced heavy opposition. Many consider it a sign of giving in to western influences to have their hair cut.^[47][48] Early American settlers saw long-haired, native men as rebelling against their civilized society. Mountain men and trappers who adopted the customs were also considered amoral, and often identified by their long hair.^[49] Since the cultural movements of the sixties and seventies, however, Native Americans have felt less pressure to have short hair, as different movements have defended their cultural rights.^[50] For example, several states have loosened prison regulations, allowing Native Americans to wear long hair during incarceration, along with other cultural allowances.^[51] There has been resistance to these changes, however, as long hair is sometimes used to hide drugs, as well as to identify with a gang.^[52]

Sub-Saharan Africans[link]

Ngbandi girls with waist-length hair, central Africa, 1905

In West African cultures, women with long hair were highly valued. Long, thick hair was seen as a sign of health, strength, and capability to bear many children. In keeping with this general theme, women who were too young for marriage would shave a portion of their heads to signal so. This tradition, however, did not extend to every African tribe, as several valued shorter hair.^[53]

African Americans[link]

When African slaves were freed in the Americas, they struggled with comments from whites calling their hair ugly and nappy. Many African-American women began straightening their hair. However, there was and always will be a variety of hairstyles, such as dreadlocks, twists, short hair, long hair, curly hair, straight hair, etc. Social pressures were heavily influencing African-American females to have long straight hair. Although African Americans have short or long hair, they can do a lot with their hair. Therefore, they have hair shows to show the large variety of hairstyles. African Americans, as well as other thick curly-haired people, are often pressured to not wear their natural hair in today's society. When they wear their hair natural, it's soft and easy to manage. However, when it comes to not wanting to wear natural hair, it becomes more difficult to manage. Therefore, African Americans are wearing natural hair more, so it's finally becoming more accepted.

Asia[link]

Japanese woman combing her long hair. (Colour woodblock print from 1920 by Hashiguchi Goyō.)

Illustration of The Tale of Genji, painted by Tosa Mitsuoki (1617-1691).

Historically, East Asian cultures viewed long hair as a sign of youth and aesthetic beauty. Long hair is associated with private life and sexuality. East Asian cultures see long, unkempt hair in a woman as a sign of sexual intent or a recent sexual encounter, as usually their hair is tied up.^[10] Lay Buddhists have long hair, while Buddhist monks have shaved heads.^[6]

For Sikhs, Kesh is the practice of allowing one's hair to grow naturally as a symbol of devotion to God and lack of worldliness.^[9]

In Jewish and other cultures, shortening hair signifies mourning and sadness.^[18]

Around the seventeenth century, the Manchu people forced all men in China to adopt a hairstyle called a queue, which was basically a long braid down the back with the hair on the front part of the head shaved. This style lasted well into the nineteenth century, when the Chinese began immigrating to America. Americans at first judged them to be poor workers because their long hair brought an association with women.^[54] Both Islamic and Christian missionaries to the Chinese were strong advocates of shorter hair for their converts, but this was a small group.^[55] Around the Destruction of Four Olds period in 1964, almost anything seen as part of Traditional Chinese culture would lead to problems with the Communist Red Guards. Items that attracted dangerous attention if caught in the public included jewelry and long hair.^[56] These things were regarded as symbols of bourgeois lifestyle, that represented wealth. People had to avoid them or suffer serious consequences such as tortures and beatings by the guards.^[56] More recently, long hair was ridiculed in China from October 1983 to February 1984, as part of the Anti-Spiritual Pollution Campaign.^[57] Li Yang, an unorthodox Chinese English teacher who brands the popular Crazy English, claims the following on his website:

"What [America, England and Japan] want most is for China’s youth to have long hair, wear bizarre clothes, drink soda, listen to Western music, have no fighting spirit, love pleasure and comfort!"^[58]

In Southeast Asia and Indonesia, male long hair was valued in until the seventeenth century, when the area adopted outside influences including Islam and Christianity. Invading cultures enforced shorter hairstyles on men as a sign of servitude, as well. They were also confused at the short hairstyles among women in certain areas, such as Thailand, and struggled to explain why women in the area had such short hair. They came up with several mythical stories, one of which involved a king who found a long hair in his rice and, in a rage, demanded that all women keep their hair short.^[55]

In rural areas in certain Asian countries, for example India, girls still usually let their hair grow long, and knee-length hair is not unusual.^[59]

In the medieval Japan, heian gentleman were not very interested in a woman's physical beauty and rarely had an opportunity to see it. The only physical attribute of interest was a woman's hair, which had to be thick and longer than she was tall. The fascination with long hair was one reason why a woman's becoming a nun was regarded with such seriousness - it could never again grow to its full length. This explains why Genji refuses to let Murasaki (his de facto wife in the classical Japanese novel the Tale of Genji) take the tonsure when she is ill.^[60]

See also[link]

• Grooming
• Haircut
• Hair extensions
• Hairstick
• Lady Godiva
• Long hair fetishism, a form of Trichophilia
• Rapunzel

Images[link]

• Female long hair in art (Gallery at Wikimedia commons)
• Female long hair photos (Gallery at Wikimedia commons)
• Male long hair in art (Gallery at Wikimedia commons)
• Male long hair photos (Gallery at Wikimedia commons)

References[link]