Alkaline Relaxer
Meaning ❉ The Alkaline Relaxer is a chemical agent designed to permanently straighten tightly curled hair, deeply woven into the heritage of Black and mixed-race hair care.
Hair Relaxation
Meaning ❉ Hair relaxation chemically loosens natural curl patterns, a practice deeply intertwined with Black and mixed-race hair heritage, societal pressures, and evolving identity.
What historical factors affected textured hair product availability?
Historical factors, including slavery and segregation, severely restricted textured hair product availability, spurring community-led innovation.
Beauty Biases
Meaning ❉ Beauty Biases are systemic preferences that favor certain hair textures, especially Eurocentric ideals, over diverse textured hair types, impacting perception and social experience.
Mende Bundu Mask
Meaning ❉ The Mende Bundu Mask is a West African ceremonial object embodying female initiation ideals, rooted deeply in textured hair heritage and ancestral practices.
What role did the hot comb play in Black hair’s cultural heritage?
The hot comb served as a transformative tool within Black hair's cultural heritage, offering temporary straightening for social navigation and personal expression.
Nineteenth Century Beauty
Meaning ❉ Nineteenth Century Beauty is a complex, contested ideal shaped by Eurocentric norms and defiantly redefined by textured hair heritage and ancestral practices.
