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The natural hair movement was born in the USA during the 2000s. This movement is named ′mouvement nappy′ in French-speaking countries. .

Definition and et features
The movement designates black women who want to keep their afro-textured hair. The ′nappy′ word has been subjected to denigration since the atlantic slave trade. Thereafter, some Afrodescendants has positively taken the word back, considered in francophone countries as a backronym made up of ′natural′ and ′happy′.

These women, called ′nappy girls′ or ′nappies′, give straightening up and let their hair grow in her natural texture. Their haircuts can be simple or more sophisticated, by the adoption of hair twists, braids or even locks.

Nappy hair : Ariadne's thread in the History of Afro-descendants
The unconscious relationship that some Afrodescendants have with their afro-textured hair can be approached in a reverse chronological order.

Since the 2000s, in the USA, then in France and in Africa, some black women have realized that their nappy hair can be beautiful. This calls into question the subconscious internalized association nappy = ugly ; They stop therefore to comply with the dominant aesthetic ideal beautiful hair = smooth hair. Through their hair, the nappies thus reconcile with their africanness.

This return to naturalness, at the organic era, has been encouraged by the awareness of the harmful effects of relaxers on scalp: itchings, red patches, burns, broken hairs or worse: alopecia (hair loss). However, among black women, 98% have their hair straithened at less one time in their lives ; and relaxers have represented no less than 70% of the cosmetic purchases carried out by the population. In the 1980s-1990s, the straightening had been mainstreamed.

Sooner, in the 1970s-1980s, the ′Jheri curl′, an other technique to loosening the nappy hair, became fashionable in the African-American community, popularized especially by some celebrities like Michael Jackson in Thriller.

During these same years, a new hairstyle appeared too: dreadlocks (naturally matted hair locks), popularized by Bob Marley and more generally by reggae music and the Rastafarian movement. This hairstyle can be a mark of social and spiritual distinctions: ′the adoption of long or very atypical hair [can reflect] rebellion or a refusal of the dominant values.′ Previously, in the 1960s-1970s, the racial segregation between the black and the white had reigned in the United States. Angela Davis, a young human rights activist and member of the revolutionary movement Black Panthers created in 1966, made the ′Afro hairstyle′ famous. This dense and spherical hairdressing thus symbolized the emancipation and cultural affirmation of the African Americans. It was adopted by many stars like Diana Ross or the Jackson 5.

A century earlier, in 1865, slavery is abolished at the end of the American Civil War. Nevertheless, Black populations had looked for straightening their nappy hair, so as to move closer to the dominant aesthetics, if only to find employment. At the time, the most use instrument was the hot comb, until 1909, when Garrett A. Morgan invented a revolutionary relaxer cream.

During the atlantic slave trade, the conditions of servitude had not allowed to take care of one's hair, which had been subjected to denigration by the master : 'nappy′ had become pejorative.

The deportation of millions of Africans get them separated from their originally aesthetic activities regarding hair care.

In the ancestral traditions, hairdressing is ′''an activity during which the genealogy history and many other cultural features were taught to children. Every African hairdressing was codified according to the ethnic group and by status′.

"It is the loss of this instrument [the African comb], all the more valuable that it is essential to the nappy hair care, which is going to dissociate Black people from the nature of their own hair, considered therefore as ′difficult to comb′. (...) The African was snatched from his comb when he was snatched from his native land and thus taken away from an irreplaceable cultural symbol, legacy and accessory from his beauty culture."

- Juliette Sméralda

The natural hair movement today
For about ten years, thanks to Web 2.0, a growing number of people have been sharing their beauty advice via: These websites have expanped the natural hair movement around the world so as to highlight the black beauty.
 * blogs : Black Girl Long Hair, Naturally Curly , Curly Nikki  , Hair Lista  , Afrobella  in the USA ; Black Beauty Bag   , Afrobelle  , Ivy-Mag in France ;
 * Facebook pages :
 * 🇺🇸 USA : Natural Chica ;
 * Quebec : Racines Crépues ;
 * 🇫🇷 France : Révèle-toi, Boucles d’Ébène , Belle Ébène  , Natural Hair Academy  , Black and Beautiful ;
 * 🇸🇳 Senegal : Astuces Beauté Africaine ;
 * Ivory Coast : Nappys De Babi ;
 * 🇨🇲 Cameroon : Les Bidouilles d'une Nappy, So Natural So Me ;
 * 🇿🇦 South Africa : My Fro & I ;
 * 🇹🇬 Togo : Frisettes & Co. ;
 * 🇲🇱 Mali : Nappys de Bamako ;
 * Democratic Republic of the Congo : Nappy Girls du Congo Kinshasa ;
 * 🇬🇦 Gabon : Nappy du Gabon ;
 * 🇬🇳 Guinea : Nappy de Guinée ;
 * 🇳🇪 Niger : Les Nappy Du Niger.
 * forums : Beauté d'Afrik in France ; Long Hair Care Forum, Black Naps and Nappturality  in the USA ;
 * webzines : Naturally Happy Hair in the USA ; FashizBlack, Afrosomething in France ; Afro Style Magazine  in the Netherlands;
 * videos : Beautiful Naturelle in France.

Each woman has her own reasons to retrieve her authenticity: some of them want to preserve her hair against agressive hair styling methods (weavings too tight) or harmful straightening chemical products ; for others, they prefer nappy hair aesthetically in spite of the pressure from the dominant aethetic.

The natural hair movement has been encouraged by the choice performed by some stars to abandon straightening in favour of a comeback to their natural hair: amongst the nappies icons, there are Erykah Badu, Aïssa Maïga  , Lupita Nyong'o  , Solange Knowles    , Inna Modja  or even Janelle Monáe.

Outside of USA, several events has developed in order to accompany the natural hair movement, particularly in France and in Africa:
 * The salon ′Boucles d'ébène′ : a demonstration, has existed for ten years, dedicated to the black hairdressing and beauty.
 * The ′Miss Nappy Paris′ competition: the election of ′Miss Nappy′ so as to promote the afro hair beauty.
 * The ′Massalia Nappy Days′: lectures, projections of documentaries and fashion shows.
 * The ′Crépue d'ébène Festival′ at Abidjan (Ivory Coast): dedicated to the natural beauty of the African woman and to the highlighting of the nappy hair.
 * The ′Natural Hair Academy′: event to better understand the nappy hair, days of advice by speakers.
 * The ′AfricaParis Festival′ : dedicated to the afropean culture.

Criticisms
Some nappies, dubbed ′nappex′ (nappies considered extremists), become radicalised and claim that hair straightening is a mark of self disavowal.These guilt-laden are denounced by India.Arie and her song ′I Am Not My Hair′.

Nappy lexicon
Serveral words are frequently used in the vocabulary of the natural hair movement   :
 * nappy girl : black woman who keeps his hair in its natural texture
 * big chop : ′the big chop' consists in cutting one's straightened hair and let it grow in its natural texture
 * bantu knot : little cabbages rolling on themselves
 * transition : weaning period against straightening product
 * protective hairdressing : like braids that preserve hair ends
 * tiny afro : little afro haircut
 * twist : double braids
 * twist out : hairdressing that permits to curl one's afro
 * yarn locks : braids performed with wool
 * frohawk : hairdressing closed to the mohawk hairstyle
 * shrinkage : narrowing of the hair fiber in contact with water
 * nappex : nappies considered extremists
 * co-wash : washing one's hair with after-shampoo

Filmographie

 * Good Hair, movie directed by Jeff Stilson and produced by Chris Rock in 2009.
 * My Nappy Roots: A Journey Through Black Hair-itage, movie directed and produced by Regina Kimbell in 2008.

Related items

 * Afro-textured hair
 * Afro
 * Black is beautiful
 * Black Panthers
 * Black feminism
 * Blaxploitation
 * Postcolonialism
 * Afrocentrism
 * Surpassesing one's Internalized racism
 * Afropeanity
 * Nappturality

Category:Subcultures Category:African-American culture