# What do you call this African American hair style? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 20, 2005, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-this-african-american-hair-style/317921 "2005-08-20T21:47:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2005, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-this-african-american-hair-style/317921/21 "2005-08-21T23:01:17Z")
_frets_ I just _knew_ I forgot to mention _something._ [Hot combs!](http://www.cosmeticmall.com/images/products/detailed/109924.jpg) D’oh! Thanks, **Cillasi!** I’ll just add this use of a hot-ass metal comb in your hair is where the term [_tenderheaded_](http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0671047558/ref=sib_dp_pt/102-8853079-0920917#reader-link) gets its name. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2005, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-this-african-american-hair-style/317921/22 "2005-08-21T23:06:29Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > One of the psychological scars of slavery is that black hair was denigrated and dismissed by European slavers, who described it as “woolly” – like a sheep’s – and considered it self-evident “proof” of blacks’ subhumanity and a justification for their enslavement. Harriet Beecher Stowe uses “woolly” about once a page in _Uncle Tom’s Cabin_, or so it seems. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2005, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-this-african-american-hair-style/317921/23 "2005-08-21T23:22:22Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > _frets_ I just _knew_ I forgot to mention _something._ [Hot combs!](http://www.cosmeticmall.com/images/products/detailed/109924.jpg) D’oh! Thanks, **Cillasi!** > > I’ll just add this use of a hot-ass metal comb in your hair is where the term [_tenderheaded_](http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0671047558/ref=sib_dp_pt/102-8853079-0920917#reader-link) gets its name. Uh-uh. Tenderheaded means that you’re sensitive to the hair-pulling and hair-yanking required for combing through kinky hair. AFAIK it has nothing to do with hot combs. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2005, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-this-african-american-hair-style/317921/24 "2005-08-21T23:22:34Z")
**monstro.** Thanks for the compliment. I’d always been impressed by your off-hand post (from earlier this year, I think) noticing how black folks with great big Angela Davis-sized 'fros tended not to be of exclusively West African stock, but mixed. Threw me for a loop, because the more I look for the evidence to the contrary, the more I think you’re absolutely right. **Marley23.** I’m not surprised. Lots of suspect terms (to 21st century ears, anyway) were used by abolitionists: “Childlike,” “Unfortunate creatures” and “Hammites” among a few more I recall. “Woolly” being one of the lesser offensive, but can be used very negatively or even positively. That passage in the Bible about Jesus having “hair like wool” and “feet like burnt bronze” is used as “proof” by many AME ministers that Jesus is black. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2005, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-this-african-american-hair-style/317921/25 "2005-08-21T23:25:59Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > Uh-uh. Tenderheaded means that you’re sensitive to the hair-pulling and hair-yanking required for combing through kinky hair. AFAIK it has nothing to do with hot combs. Oh? Really? I always associated it with hot combs, because the only time I ever heard my grandma use it was when she was doing my aunt’s hair by the stove. But you know I’ll defer to you on this. I’m bald for a reason. ---
**Author:** ![Doobieous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Doobieous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doobieous)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-this-african-american-hair-style/317921/26 "2005-08-22T04:26:16Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > That passage in the Bible about Jesus having “hair like wool” and “feet like burnt bronze” is used as “proof” by many AME ministers that Jesus is black. I always get riled up over that one, because invariably they picture him as looking West African, when Africans do not look all the same (and at least in North Africa they’re either Arab or Berber mostly). ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-this-african-american-hair-style/317921/27 "2005-08-22T21:19:02Z")
So here’s a question asked completely in innocence and ignorance: is it considered racist or inappropriate for a white person to say something about a black person having “nappy hair”? (I’m remembering the [big issue](http://www.csuchico.edu/pub/inside/archive/99_03_04/top_story2.html) made over the [children’s book](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0679894454/qid=1124745877/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-4230622-6426426?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) a few years ago.) ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-this-african-american-hair-style/317921/28 "2005-08-22T22:49:52Z")
**Sampiro.** I had not heard of this particular controversy before. Thanks. Well, what happens with comments from people within an ethnic group are handled differently than remarks from people without. It largely depends on context. In a heated argument, a comment out a nappy head comes off racist. In another light it might simply be descriptive, and celebrated, like that children’s book. Nappiness is not generally (I use the word _generally_ quite broadly here) a desired quality in our hair and for some it’s a source of deep shame, so if it happens to be nappy and you’re pointing it out to someone who’s sensitive about their hair, it’s kinda rude. I might fire back, “You’re one to talk about hair, Frizzy Dandrufflakes. You planning on eating those?” ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-this-african-american-hair-style/317921/29 "2005-08-22T22:56:37Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > So here’s a question asked completely in innocence and ignorance: is it considered racist or inappropriate for a white person to say something about a black person having “nappy hair”? (I’m remembering the [big issue](http://www.csuchico.edu/pub/inside/archive/99_03_04/top_story2.html) made over the [children’s book](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0679894454/qid=1124745877/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-4230622-6426426?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) a few years ago.) It depends on the context. I use nappy as a general descriptor, just like hair color and length. It’s just a synonym for “kinky” when I use it, and as long as it’s used accurately, I don’t mind it. (I once had a teddy bear with curly fur who I called “Naps”.) But I know someone (white) who often uses that term disparagingly, using it to describe hair that just looks bad (regardless of that person’s race). As in, “He looked like a bum, all dirty and his hair all nappy.” I wince whenever she uses the word in that way; it reminds me of when the kids in middle school would call my hair a “nappy weave”. A lot of people–white and black–associate badness with “nappy”. So I would recommend using the word with some caution (for instance, you wouldn’t want to go up to someone and say, “Wow, you’ve got some NAPPY hair!” You might get a dirty look. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-this-african-american-hair-style/317921/30 "2005-08-22T23:51:08Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > So here’s a question asked completely in innocence and ignorance: is it considered racist or inappropriate for a white person to say something about a black person having “nappy hair”? (I’m remembering the [big issue](http://www.csuchico.edu/pub/inside/archive/99_03_04/top_story2.html) made over the [children’s book](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0679894454/qid=1124745877/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-4230622-6426426?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) a few years ago.) Context matters. Quite a bit, in fact. I would be, at the very least, taken aback by someone who described my hair as “nappy.” I’ve almost never heard it as a neutral term. It carries negative connotations along with it. Even when it is true, I’d say it’s inappropriate, vaguely like referring to “the fat woman” or “the guy with the really big ears,” the kind of personal remark that just is not going to come off well. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-this-african-american-hair-style/317921/31 "2005-08-23T02:57:03Z")
So what about “kinky” as a neutral descriptor of that hair texture? “Extremely curly” doesn’t quite cut it. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-this-african-american-hair-style/317921/32 "2005-08-23T06:34:17Z")
> [@Askia](#): > > **Marley23.** I’m not surprised. Lots of suspect terms (to 21st century ears, anyway) were used by abolitionists: “Childlike,” “Unfortunate creatures” and “Hammites” among a few more I recall. “Woolly” being one of the lesser offensive, but can be used very negatively or even positively. Yeah, you’d find comparisons to children and ‘unfortunate creatures’ type language and attitudes in that book as well. _Uncle Tom’s Cabin_ being of its time, it’s not intentionally derogatory, just deeply patronizing and thus (rightly) not tolerated by your average reader today. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-this-african-american-hair-style/317921/33 "2005-08-23T15:41:15Z")
Question-what is the difference between cornrows and just braids? Are cornrows the kind of braids that are very close to the scalp (sort of french braided so they lay against your head), and braids can be loose? ---
**Author:** ![Doobieous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Doobieous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doobieous)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-this-african-american-hair-style/317921/34 "2005-08-23T15:44:03Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Question-what is the difference between cornrows and just braids? Are cornrows the kind of braids that are very close to the scalp (sort of french braided so they lay against your head), and braids can be loose? They’re both braided, but cornrows hug the head like a French braid does. Simple braids tend to come off of the head. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-this-african-american-hair-style/317921/35 "2005-08-23T15:52:52Z")
I know at least down South, among some circles, the term “plaits” is used for what most people call “braids” (or pigtails). “Braids” refer to cornrows or braiding down close to the scalp. I think it’s confusing, too. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-this-african-american-hair-style/317921/36 "2005-08-23T15:58:27Z")
> [@Cillasi](#): > > In the 50’s, a lot of black men would “conk” their hair. This is the process (it was also called “processing”) of applying a lye-based product to the hair to chemically straighten it. As you can imagine, processing was harsh and really took it’s toll on hair. More men did this than women (who wanted longer hair) because of the destruction it caused. > > Both methods were notorious for causing scalp burns, and it was the mark of a good beautician/barber who could put you through the process with no burns. That’s what was going on in Spike Lee’s movie _X_. I think in the movie, Malcolm and some friends were either applying to themselves or to each other. Seemed like it was fairly risky to mess with those chemicals – IIRC, Malcolm got a bit of a scalp burn. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-this-african-american-hair-style/317921/37 "2005-08-23T15:58:54Z")
That’s what I thought, but I wasn’t sure. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2005, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-this-african-american-hair-style/317921/38 "2005-08-24T13:57:53Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > On a more historic note, before current African-American hair care products, how did black people take care of their hair? Just regular household grease or cholesterol or…? (I know that Madam C.J. Walker, the first self-made female millionaire [of any color] got her start by tapping the need for black haircare products.) They used household grease, (often skimmed from the top of used dishwater) or vaseline. ---
**Author:** ![phall0106](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phall0106/32/5934_2.png) [@phall0106](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phall0106)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2005, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-this-african-american-hair-style/317921/39 "2005-08-24T16:57:37Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > That’s what was going on in Spike Lee’s movie _X_. I think in the movie, Malcolm and some friends were either applying to themselves or to each other. Seemed like it was fairly risky to mess with those chemicals – IIRC, Malcolm got a bit of a scalp burn. why do this? Why not just keep the hair cut short? Although it would still be curly, it would be short–right? Is/was curly bad, or was it just not in fashion? ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2005, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-this-african-american-hair-style/317921/40 "2005-08-24T17:16:58Z")
> [@phall0106](#): > > Is/was curly bad, or was it just not in fashion? Others can answer more authoritatively, but I’ll give it a go. My understanding is that in the 1950s, the fashion for many black people of the time was to straighten their hair. I think it was rooted in an effort to appear “more white” – and in turn, to be acceptable in white society. The trend was especially noticeable with black entertainers and athletes (Nat King Cole and boxer Sugar Ray Robinson come to mind). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-call-this-african-american-hair-style/317921.md?page=1)