Black women have a complicated relationship with our hair. On the one hand, there was a time when coilier textures’ ability to grow toward the skies was seen as a symbol of high status and portrayed closeness to the divine. But in contemporary times, despite the vast influence of the second wave natural hair movement, the texture caste system from the colonial era that we were forced to conform to—where straight hair is seen as “good” and tighter coils are seen as “bad”—still persists. And there are several parallels when it comes to black women wearing wigs. To find out more, we turned to hair historian Afiya Mbilishaka, Ph.D., and dermatologist Crystal Ugochi Aguh, M.D.
Meet the expert
- Afiya Mbilishaka, Ph.D., is a hair historian and the head of psychology at the University of the District of Columbia.
- Crystal Ugochi Aguh, M.D., is the director of the Ethnic Skin program and assistant professor of dermatology at Johns Hopkins University.
Keep reading to unpack the history behind wigs for black women.
Wigs in Ancient Times
“Black women’s relationships with wigs began in ancient Egypt,” says Dr. Mbilishaka. “There’s a lot of research suggesting that wigs were supposed to show rank in society in this culture. A lot of the royal families had these very decorated wigs with gold and lace and other adornments to show that they had nobility.” Styles would range from curly to coily and some would even be braided or in locs.
The upper class would also choose to shave their natural hair off in order to have the option to only wear hair when they wished, which was a true privilege. However, those of a lower rank were not permitted to wear wigs during this era, Dr. Mbilishaka says.
Dr. Afiya Mbilishaka
A lot of the royal families had these very decorated wigs with gold and lace and other adornments to show that they had nobility.
— Dr. Afiya Mbilishaka
Another interesting fact is that some ancient Egyptian queens wore wigs not only on their…
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