Afro
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An afro, sometimes called a "natural" or shortened to "fro", is a hairstyle in which the hair extends out from the head like a halo, cloud or ball. This may or may not include wearing such afros long, to several times the diameter of the head.
For many people of Black African descent, an afro is the way the hair grows naturally. Nevertheless, anyone with very curly hair is capable of growing an afro, such as Ashkenazi Jews with curly hair who may sport a "Jewfro". For people of Black African descent, the spiraling, tightly coiled curls (sometimes referred to as natural afro-hair) can be straightened out somewhat, giving the hair added volume and length, by first braiding the hair, then separating the coils using an "afro pick". The afro pick is an adaptation of a traditional African grooming instrument,[1] which is essentially a narrow comb with long, widely spaced teeth.
[edit] History
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In the 1860s a style similar to the Afro was worn by the Circassian beauties, sometimes known as "Moss-haired girls", exhibited in sideshow attractions in the United States by P.T. Barnum and others. These women were claimed to be from the Circassian people in the Northern Caucasus region, and were marketed to white audiences captivated by the "exotic East.".[2][3]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
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Look up Afro in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
- ^ Example of a traditional African comb
- ^ Linda Frost, Never one nation: freaks, savages, and whiteness in U.S. popular culture, 1850-1877, University of Minnesota Press, 2005, p.68-88
- ^ The Circassian beauty archive A collection of historic Images - Circassian Beauties
