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The Complex History of Silk Printing and Its Cultural Significance for Young Black Women
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The Complex History of Silk Printing and Its Cultural Significance for Young Black Women

For some, it’s great to see the conversation about the Black hair process continually demystified on such a national level. “I love how conversations around Kamala Harris’ silk press are getting more people talking about hair care, especially with the fall season and the upcoming presidential election increasing interest,” says Brittany Thompson. “I see a lot of people on TikTok and Instagram saying, ‘I don’t use a curling iron; ‘I use a round brush.’ “Having someone like Kamala rocking the silk press makes it feel so much more relatable, especially for women who want to celebrate their natural texture while maintaining a chic vibe.”

Anele, 30, from Austin, Texas, is one of many Black women who grew up comforting. Before the famous silk printing machine came into play in the early 2000s – after scientists found links with higher chances uterine cancer – remembers being “shot” just for me“As soon as her hair could be tangled. “Any other hair care was considered a luxury,” she says. It wasn’t until she turned 17 that she got her first silk press. Her grandmother paid for her to go to a beauty school to get her hair done. It was a birthday present.

“There weren’t many stylists in beauty school, let alone Black ones, so I was paired with a woman who, thankfully, had never experienced textured hair,” she says. “The poor woman was stunned. I had wavy hair that was relaxed at home at the time, so it was a little straight, a little wavy, and there was new growth curled tightly at the root. She kept calling her trainer, advising him to use the hot comb, and eventually she came to the rescue to get my hair combed faster, and my hair was combed faster.” “She explained that it was ‘so frizzy it needed extra time.'”

The team of stylists quickly performed her treatment; The school was preparing to close. They burned his temple with a hot comb. Her hair lasted two days; The scar lasted several weeks.

Now as an adult, Anele is strategic with her silk prints. He only buys them in April, November or December and uses these months as a time to cut his hair. “I hope young girls are not pressured to straighten their hair like we were and are no longer tricked by girls. just for me boxes posing with new prints and Negative “They are relaxing,” he says. “Instead, I hope younger generations are encouraged to exercise autonomy over their hair.”

This autonomy has taken shape in the last fifteen years. While the silk print is still a popular choice in the Rolodex of Black hairstyles, it’s just one of many styles that came after the natural hair movement replaced the use of perms. Accordingly MintelThings turned around in 2008 with a 26% drop in sales. Perms once accounted for one-fifth of total Black hair care treatments. The natural hair industrial complex has slowly taken over. And launch CROWN Law It helped shape how women began to view their natural hair in 2019.