It wasn’t long ago when someone wearing an Afro was looked upon as a rebel, militant feminist and/or a revolutionary. In the rise of natural hairstyles, the Afro aka ‘Natural’ fashionably called, ‘TWA’ (teenie-weenie-afro) and ‘Puff’ has made a comeback. Today, there are several models, singers and entertainers who sport Afros, real or fake as a hairstyle.
When the Afro first emerged as a mainstream hairstyle in the mid-60s/early 70s I’m sure many Afro wearers experienced hair breakage/hair loss because of the lack of resources on maintaining natural hair (i.e. how-to hair care literature, products, tools, etc). Today, we have all those sources and more at our fingertips.
Although the Afro is considered to be a low-maintenance hairstyle, it requires just the same attention and care as other natural styles. Several images from the late 60s and mid 70s depict Afro wearers using an Afro pick (picture the ones with the fist on the end) to detangle their fros. I remember watching reruns of the television show Good Times and seeing J.J. and/or Michael Evans picking out their Afros and patting them into shape. Others even used electric picks to detangle their Afros.
Most often the teeth or prongs of the picks were not wide, which would surely cause breakage, and although some of the pics were made with wide teeth, they also had sharp pointed ends which are definetly not good for the scalp. Also, these Afro wearers would pick their hair throughout the day to keep their desired shape, and the picking would be done on dry hair. The Afro back then also suffered from lack of moisture. Petroleum/mineral oil based sheens with added ‘cones’ (dimethicone, cyclomethicone) gave the appearance of a soft, moisturized Afro, but robbed the hair of moisture which also causes breakage.
I couldn’t imagine how those Afro wearers maintained their hair while they slept. Even using a satin cap while they slept would ruin the shape of the Afro, and it would have to be re-picked each and every morning. Although I’m sure many opted to braid their hair at night which would have been helpful in stretching their hair to reach the fullest Afro potential, but again the detangle/braid at night and pick out every morning routine would have also taken a toll on their hair.
I also wonder how often these Afro wearers washed their hair. The style was to have a big, fluffy Afro not a shrunken wash-n-go, so I’m certain some of these Afro wearers avoided water whenever possible. Following this maintenance routine of dry picking, braiding and detangling daily, avoiding water and standing under chemical fog doses of Afro sheen, it’s no wonder why early Afro wearers would have experienced hair breakage/hair loss.
As mentioned previously, thankfully today we have many more resources than the Afro wearers of the mid 60s and early 70s. To maintain an Afro, TWA, or Puff today, we know that moisture is the key, especially when it comes to detangling. A trusty water bottle filled with essential oil and/or a little conditioner is all that is needed to detangle. And detangling daily is not necessary at all since chunky or textured Afros are also stylish.
We also know that the daily use of petroleum/mineral oil and ‘cone’ based products should be kept to a minimum if even used at all. These products should be replaced with ones that are water based and/or contain natural essential oils and butters. Weekly/bi-weekly washing and conditioning is a must to maintain healthy hair. Scalp massages with essential oils also aid in the overall health of hair. It is not necessary to braid each and every night. If you are braiding to ‘stretch’ your Afro or even to give it more texture, braid once at the beginning of the week.
At night it is best to use a silk or satin cap or pillow case, to avoid loose hairs from being snagged and pulled out due to friction on harsher materials such as cotton. Of course, no matter what you do while you sleep your Afro will lose it’s shape, but instead of picking it out dry hop in the shower and let the spray moisturize your hair.
Once your hair is moisturized from the shower spray add a little of your water/natural oil or butter based product to seal in the moisture. Then if needed, style with your fingers instead of using a pick. If for some reason this is not an option and you feel you must detangle to style then do so while your hair is still moist using a wide tooth comb, starting from the ends then working toward your roots.
For the finishing touch you can then use a technique from the back-in-the-day Afro wearers and ‘pat’ into place
Afro pics and info: History of the Pick, Afro Obsession Pics, Sexy Afro Pics
You don’t see that calibre of afro these days. Those 70′s fros were huge and glorious, so whatever they were doing couldn’t have been that bad.