1800s:
Hot combs were created by the French in 1845 and arrived in America by 1880. The combs were heated on gas stoves and used to temporarily give Black people straighter, smoother and more Eurocentric hair texture, thirstyroots.com says.
After slavery ended, Black men and women with “styled,” straightened hair were considered well-adjusted, while those with natural hair were seen as unfit. Terms like “pickaninny” emerged with the 1852 publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin and were used to denote Black children with unkempt hair.
Early 1900s:
Madame C.J. Walker established the first African-American hair care products, making her the first female Black self-made millionaire. She revolutionized the press-and-curl style, which Black people viewed as a symbol of beauty and mobility.
Garrett A. Morgan founded G.A. Morgan Hair Refining Company, which created the first chemical relaxers. George E. Johnson followed in 1954, founding the Johnson Products empire, which introduced the first permanent hair straightener, notes thirstyroots.com.
