Natural hair movement

[1][2] The movement is centered around Black people who wear afro-textured hair in its natural, coiled, or tight, curly state.

Additionally, for many members of the movement, "being natural" does not necessarily indicate a strict adherence to any particular type of product or styling regimen; nor is it exclusively tied to certain social or political beliefs.

[14] After the American abolition of slavery in 1865, black populations looked to straighten their hair, so as to move closer to the dominant aesthetics in an effort to obtain work.

At the time, the most used instrument for hair smoothing was the hot comb, prior to Garrett A. Morgan's invention of a relaxer cream in 1909.

Angela Davis, a young human rights activist and member of the 1966 revolutionary movement Black Panthers, made the Afro hairstyle famous.

This hairstyle can be a mark of social and spiritual distinction: "The adoption of long or very atypical hair [can reflect] rebellion or a refusal of the dominant values.

[9] The return to natural hair in the organic era has been encouraged by the awareness of the harmful effects of relaxers on the scalp, ranging from itchiness, red patches, and burns to alopecia.

Governor Gavin Newsom signed the CROWN Act into law, banning employers and schools from discriminating against hairstyles such as afros, braids, twists, and dreadlocks.

[53] Likewise, later in 2019 Assembly Bill 07797 became law in New York state; it "prohibits race discrimination based on natural hair or hairstyles.

[60] In March 2014, the United States Department of Defense issued a set of guidelines that banned all afros, dreadlocks, braids, and twists that were greater than 1⁄4" in diameter.

[62] In April 2016, a female Zara employee in the Canadian city of Toronto was reprimanded for wearing her hair in a braided hairstyle, which resulted in her filing a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission.

Giuliana Rancic apologized to actress Zendaya—who wore dreadlocks on the 2015 Oscar's red carpet—after commenting that Zendaya's hair must have smelled of "patchouli oil or weed".