Hot Comb - History

History

The African hair texture is unique in the world, but shared with others as far away as the Polynesian Islands, India, and in North Africa. The elliptical shape of the curly hair is thought to hold in moisture and allow cooling to the head in hotter Sub Saharan climates. The "African" hair texture is not monolithic. Curly hair, can vary from tight curls that resist combing, to loose curls most often seen in America on some "mixed race" children who have a parent who is not of African descent. African hair is very fragile, breaking easily when combed, and not resistant to many of the tools used to straighten it. African hair varies in its texture greatly individual to individual and no one method is suited to everyone. In order to achieve different hairstyles, some have tried many methods of hair straightening. One thing became obvious and that was it was easier to comb "straight" hair, and there was less hair loss when the hair was straightened. Many people of African descent didn't need hair straighteners but the ones that wanted it tried a multitude of ways to achieve de frissage. Therefore, many African Americans looked to find ways to straighten their hair to achieve a straighter and relaxed texture to their hair. Some of the first unconventional methods included men "slicking their hair with axle grease to create a hair straightener. Women would slather their hair with butter, bacon fat, or goose grease and then use a butter knife heated in a can over a fire as a crude curling iron." Perhaps one of the most dangerous methods was mixing lye with potatoes and placing it on the hair. The lye would straighten the hair; however, it would sometimes eat through the skin as well. Today the perms used to straighten hair have advanced as all hair care for people with ultra curly hair.

The hot comb was an invention developed in France as a way for women with ultra curly hair to achieve a super-straight look traditionally modeled by historical Egyptian women. However, it was Annie Malone who first patented this tool, while her protégé / former worker, Madam CJ Walker who discovered this tool, widened the teeth and was the first to improve the invention in the US in 1900. After slavery the hot comb was a very controversial invention because many debated on whether it was beneficial or hurtful to the black community. There were some African Americans who believed that the hot comb damaged the African-American community because it made the community submissive to the "white ideal image" of beauty and disregarded African-American culture. Others believed that efforts like hair straightening would boost their social and economic status. This dilemma continued and progressed throughout the 20th century. Today, hot combs are still used by many African-American beauticians and families as an alternative to chemical hair straightening. Many African American and women of other races, still utilize hot combs because this form of straightening is temporary and less damaging to the hair if done properly.