From weaves, to extensions, fros, jheri curls, curly perms, straight perms, and chermical straighteners, black hair has been hidden, misunderstood, damaged, broken, laughed at, sexualised and commodified. In many cases it still is stigmatized to the point of taboo. Why is that? The author takes us on a biographical tour of the subject of Afro hair - using personal vignettes and past hairstyles to explore- race, feminism, identity, the politics of beauty, as well as forgotten and suppressed African histories.This is a fascinating and moving account that will serve not only to unearth aesthetic complexities, largely unrecognized in white culture, but also to celebrate black hair in all its guises.
