some slaves wore their hair long and bushy on top and ...others cut it short, or combed and parted it neatly, or shaved it at the back or at the front, or trimmed it to a roll.
African slaves no longer had access to their natural herbs, butters and oils to take care of their hair. They resorted to bacon grease, butter, and kerosene as their moisturizers, conditioners, and shampoo.
The history and culture of black hair dates back to the 1400s, when the first documented slave trade occurred. Slaves wore elaborate hairstyles, but were soon forced to shave and cut off their hair, stripping them of the last piece of their identity as a way to control them.
By shaving their head they were also deprived of their identity. Slaves owners would justify shaving their head for sanitary reasons but it had a deeper meaning; it was the first step taken by European to erase slaves' culture and identity.
Rice was braided into the hair of African women to serve as sustenance on their way to enslavement. The hairstyle—cornrows—hid rice and even seeds as they traveled with no belongings through the Middle Passage.
Cornrows were a sign of resistance for slaves because they used it as maps to escape from slavery and they would hide rice or seeds into their braids on their way to enslavement.
On plantations, slaves prepared and cooked the majority of the meat for planters' tables.
Follicles that are more oval in shape cause curlier hair to grow. Very tightly coiled hair is due to the nearly flat, ribbon-like structure of their follicles. This hair texture is very common in people of African ancestry. Not only is African hair often coiled, it also has a unique texture.
Compared to silkier hair African-American hair contains more lipids, or fats, but the lipids are less bonded which is why the hair loves oils so much. Along with that, the follicle size is much thicker and it has a flattened elliptical cross section causing it to be curlier than other hair types.
It is believed that Stone Age men started shaving 100,000 years ago by using clam shells like tweezers and pulling out their beard hair. About 60,000 years ago, man discovered shaving, and started using sharpened obsidian and clam shells to shave their beards.
Women in ancient Egyptian, Roman, and Indian cultures were subjected to hair removal practices similar to today's. Dating back to 3,000 BCE (!), the first razors made from seashells were used by women to shave off head and pubic hairs. Egyptians also removed hair with sugar-based waxes like modern-day waxing practices.
Field slaves typically received the cheapest and most uniform allotment of clothing. Because of their demanding and active workloads, they wore fabrics known for durability and longevity, such as osnaburg, cotton, and “plains” (a coarse wool).
Originally the head-wrap, or turban, was worn by both enslaved men and women. In time, however, it became almost exclusively a female accessory. In the photograph above, the women wear head-wraps, while the men wear hats. For their white European masters, the slaves' head-wraps were signs of poverty and subordination.
African American people can still get head lice. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) state that African American people get head lice much less frequently than other people. The reason for this may be that most head lice in the United States have claws that more easily grip onto uncoiled hair.
Over-conditioning can weigh down black hair. Can Black people wash their hair every day? No, it is not advisable to wash black hair daily as it can make your hair dry and brittle.
The braids were often used to relay messages between slaves, signal that they were going to escape, or even used to keep gold and seeds to help them survive after they would run away.
Caucasians have the highest hair density among the ethnicities studied. Black people have the lowest. Asian people have hair density that falls somewhere in between.
So, why is Afro-textured hair so fragile? With its tight curls and twists, is more prone to breakage for several reasons. Its shape increases tangling and makes combing harder. The shape also creates internal stresses when the hair is unbent, untwisted or stretched that lead to fracturing.
Fros don't absorb as much moisture as our caucasian cousins' hair, added to this the structure of our hair (curls and kinks, and increased density) means that nutrients often don't travel along the length of our strands as well as we'd like.
According to research hair grows an average of 1.3cm per monthand although it's true tha black people's hair grows slower than this, the difference is not extreme. The only reason black hair appears to grow slower is because it is extremely curly whereas other types of hair grows straight or in bigger curls.
Afro-textured hair, or kinky hair, is a human hair texture originating from sub-Saharan Africa. Each strand of this hair type grows in a tiny, angle-like helix shape. The overall effect is such that, contrasted with straight, wavy, or curly hair, afro-textured hair appears denser.
The story of human migration and evolution is written in hair DNA. In sub-Saharan Africa, genes favour tight, curly hair. But in east Asia, mutations have led to straighter, thicker hair. In Europe, other mutations brought wavy and straw-coloured hair.
Palm wine and beer made from barley, guinea corn, or millet were used widely. The alcoholic content of these beverages is less than 3% (Umunna, 1967). For the most part the drinking of beer and wine was one of acceptance without moral or immoral implications.
During their limited leisure hours, particularly on Sundays and holidays, slaves engaged in singing and dancing. Though slaves used a variety of musical instruments, they also engaged in the practice of "patting juba" or the clapping of hands in a highly complex and rhythmic fashion.
Weekly food rations -- usually corn meal, lard, some meat, molasses, peas, greens, and flour -- were distributed every Saturday. Vegetable patches or gardens, if permitted by the owner, supplied fresh produce to add to the rations. Morning meals were prepared and consumed at daybreak in the slaves' cabins.