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A Short History of the African Hair
Comb or "Afro Pick"
The African Comb (now known as the "Afro Pick"
or "Hair Pick") has been around for hundreds of years. The earliest known African Combs date back to
the 14th Century and before. They were usually made of wood, bamboo, ivory or bone, or other natural material indigenous
to a tribal area.
The African Comb was used as a tool to sculpt, curl, or straighten the hair but that's not the only role it played
in African culture and history. Originally, each part of the comb; the handle, the body, and the prongs (also known
as teeth or tines) had a cultural meaning. They were often carved with ornate designs and figures to indicate tribal
affiliation and history as well as personal status and wealth. It was also tradition to present a comb to someone
as a sign of love.
When Africans were brought to America (and other countries) as slaves the African Comb was one of the many cultural traditions that were lost, forgotten, or forbidden.
It took hundreds of years before the African Comb would develop into a traditional part of life for African Americans.
But sadly it still has not taken on the same special traditional meaning it did centuries ago. |
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The African Comb didn't truly spring into popularity
in America until the 1960s, during a time when African Americans began to rediscover their ancestry and when the
modern American Civil Rights Movement
began. The African Comb became a part of the American Civil Rights Movement because it was believed that wearing
an Afro hair style
was a way of showing you supported the Black Power movement. These special combs were the only hair tools that could create and manage Afro
hairstyles.
During the 60s the African Comb became
known as the Afro Pick (or Afro Pic, or Afro Pik). The historic tradition of tribal and cultural symbolism seen
in ancient African Combs came through in some of the modern designs of the 1960s Afro Picks.
The handle of the Black Power Fist style pick, now one the most popular among retro style Afro Picks, symbolized
the Black Power movement.
Black Power mostly referred to black unity & strength, self-reliance, racial pride, and economic & political
empowerment. The pick featured an all black body and handle with the handle shaped like a upraised fist.
The Red, Green,
& Black (RGB) Folding style
Afro Pick symbolized the colors of the African-American flag. These colors were adopted from the many flags of
Africa. It is believed the colors for the Afro-American flag were chosen by civil rights leader Marcus Garvey. The flag was designed to symbolize and encourage African
American's strength, unity, and rediscovery of their heritage. The red is thought to symbolize bloodshed, the green
symbolizes the earth, and black symbolizes the people.
The folding style afro pick was also popular
because it could be placed in a jacket or pants pocket without tearing the clothes and without sticking yourself
with the metal teeth.
The Black Folding style afro pick was created for those who wanted the strength
and stealth of the RGB folding pick but preferred the the solid black color.
The Fan style afro pick was fashioned more for practical and traditional reasons than for political
ones. The rounded handle is reminiscent of some ancient combs that were carved to resemble the sun or the moon.
The fan shape separates and untangles the hair well and is similar to ancient African combs that were made of straw
and bamboo. Fan picks were often favored by women in the 1960s and today's woman as well.
The Rake style afro pick was not designed as fashionably as other afro picks but it definitely had purpose and
function. The shear shape & size enables the user to detangle even the thickest, curliest, kinkiest head of
hair. And in the 60s it also helped create some of the biggest afros ever seen. During the sixties some felt the
bigger the afro the more you supported the Civil Rights movement and the Black Power movement. |
Some whites who wanted to show solidarity with blacks
during the Civil Rights movement did so in one way by sporting their own version of the afro hair style. They quickly
learned that the afro pick was the only comb that would let them achieve this.
The sixties was also a time when young people of all ethnic backgrounds began to take an interest in a more "natural"
and care-free way of life. The idea of not conforming and not following the rules set by the "establishment"
carried through to clothing and hair styles. It's this school of thought that brought the Afro Pick to the attention
of just about every curly headed teenage American - whether their hair was black, blonde, or red.
In the late 60s and into the 70s, many teens and young adults of every race wore their hair as natural as possible, letting
their curls and locks hang loose and free. No blow dryers or brushes were used unless absolutely necessary for
the most radical of 60's youth. The Afro Pick was often the only way to keep these "natural" hairstyles
manageable when dry, but everyone soon learned a metal afro pick
would also be the perfect tool for detangling wet hair no matter what style you were aiming for. |
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By the late 70s Afro Picks were being used mostly
by anyone who permed their hair. And there was a whole lot of perming going on in the seventies. It was the era
of the really bad poodle perm. Even middle-aged white men were getting their hair permed - ahh! By this time wearing
an Afro had little to do with supporting the Black Power Movement, Civil Rights, or personal freedoms. The afro
had all but lost much of its political connotations. Little or no photos remain documenting the need for Afro Picks
to tame the perms of the 70s. And it's no wonder. Those tight, frizzy, dry perms were a part of fashion history
that is best left in the past.
| Adding insult to injury in world of hair fashion of the
70s and the history of the Afro Pick was the fact that most stores began to carry only weak and flimsy plastic
picks with fat, uneven surfaces that snagged and tugged on hair, causing breakage of the hair and the pick. All
plastic picks looked as if they came from the same mold. Picks with metal teeth
were getting harder and harder to find as rumors spread that they were being used as weapons. Schools banned them,
stores stopped selling them. Afro picks were quickly on their way to being forced out of popular American culture
due to fear, ignorance and really bad fashion sense. |
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By the 1980s and 1990s the horrible tight perms of the seventies had died out and it seemed so did the use of afro
picks. Those ugly poodle perms gave way to reshaping or retexturizing of the hair. Transforming naturally frizzy
or tightly curled hair into straight styles or large voluptuous bouncy curls and spirals became the hottest styling
process for blacks and whites.
With metal tine picks nearly impossible to find, and plastic picks of little or
no value, hair stylists were recommending using just your fingers to comb and style curly and permed hair. By the
end of the 90s it looked like natural African American hairstyles and the afro pick were gone for good. |
Now, in the 21st Century, the popularity of the Metal Afro Pick is making a come back and thank goodness not because
frizzy perms are back.
The recent surge in popularity of the Afro Pick is partly due to a new wave of hip-hop and soul coming from young
black artists as well as a new era full of role models in the arts and in business who aren't afraid to be themselves.
But it is also due in part because young African Americans are once again rediscovering the importance of their
cultural history as well as taking pride in the natural beauty of traditional African hair styles & the modern
styles that have evolved from them. Letting one's natural hair shine through is also spreading to other races -
white, hispanic, mediteranian, middle eastern, and many others who are proud of thier heritage and thier curls.
Throw a little retro fan-fare in the mix
and the Metal Afro
Pick is once again in demand. |
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Modern forms of the African Comb (a.ka. the Metal Afro
Pick or Metal Hair Pick) are now used by people of all ethnic backgrounds and all ages to comb, style and detangle
naturally curly hair or permed hair, and to tease hair into appearing fuller and taller. More and more people are
discovering how easily a metal
tine pick glides through curly hair
when it is wet or dry, with less damage to the hair than any other type of comb or brush.
It's also well known that afro picks
with metal teeth are the best tool
for combing and styling wigs of all shapes and styles. This is especially useful to cancer victims who often wear
wigs due to hair loss from chemotherapy.
While the Metal Afro Pick has once again surged in popularity in American culture, unfortunately it has not yet
fully taken on the same unique importance in modern day African-American culture as it did in ancient African culture.
Perhaps one day it will. |
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