African American women have memories of being young and having their hair “pressed” with a hot comb. They remember the smoky smell of heated hair, the sizzling sound of the hot comb as it is placed on a wet napkin, or the required holding of an ear to prevent it from getting burned.
Ah…the beloved hot comb
. Whether it was for Sunday service, school pictures, or a special occasion, many African American women can recall their mothers, grandmothers, and hair dressers making sure their young ones looked presentable and dressed in their holiday best.
|
|
Hot comb patent illustration, 1920
|
|
But the story of the hot comb begins in the hair straightening period of the 19th century. It was “
invented in France by a hairdresser named
Francois Marcel Grateau
. Grateau realized many of his Parisian clients wished to emulate the fine, straight hair often seen in old portraits of the ancient Egypt. To attain this look, he started to use heated iron combs and discovered that the heat helped the strands of hair to realize and straighten
.”
[1]
This hair tool was brought to the United States by
Elroy J. Duncan
, who initially marketed it as a mustache grooming instrument. Then American women quickly adapted it for their hair, seeking similar hairstyles to the stars of the day.
|
|
Annie Malone
(1869-1957) later became the first in the African American community to patent the hot comb, and her apprentice
Madame C. J. Walker
(1867-1919) later widened the teeth of the comb for better usage. The hot comb remained an essential hair styling tool well throughout the 20th century.
Bernice Johnson Reagon
(1942 - ), founder of the singing group Sweet Honey in the Rock, described the African American hot comb tradition: “…
you don't put the hot comb in the baby's hair until the child is old enough. And it was a ritual of passage. You get to a certain age, then you get your hair straightened for the first time. And then you still don't get it done for school. You get it done for Easter or big days at church. You get a hot comb, and you go across the street. And they put curlers in. This is like maybe twice a year. You cannot wait until, you know, you get to be a teenager and your hair is straight all of the time. So it's just ways of getting older
.”
[2]
|
|
Then there was always the burning of the hair or the ears as noted by R&B singer
Meli’sa Morgan
(1964- ), when talking about her mother: “
Good Lord, I mean, she was a great hair stylist, but she would always burn my ear. I don’t—you know, she would say, ‘Sit still.’ If you’ve experienced getting your hair hot combed then I’m sure you can relate to being told ‘sit still’ to prevent getting burned, but still getting burned anyhow
.”
[3]
Boston hair stylist
Olive Lee Benson
(1932 - 2005) shared a similar memory as Meli’sa Morgan when her father would style her hair: “
I would say, 'OW! Oo, You burnt me' And he’d say, 'Keep still. Stay still
.'"
[4]
Television Anchor
Monica Pearson
(1947- ) eagerly recalled: "
I remember the burning smell of going to the hairdresser, and them using those hot combs, and my hair was already thin
.”
[5]
|
|
Having hot comb memories is not exclusive to just African American women; African American men also remember. Lawyer
Randolph Noel Stone
(1946- ) recalled living over the beauty shop and “
the smell of hair
.”
[6]
Reverend
Charles Richard Stith
(1949- ) said: “
the room was so hot…this was back when the sisters were hot combing their hair, because of the heat, it just drew everybody’s hair up
.”
[7]
Bishop T.D. Jakes
(1957 - ), remembered going to the barber shop as a boy, but also women doing their hair at home: “…
hot combs and Bergamot grease and on the back end of the stove and the smell of that burning grease and my mother pressing my sister's hair, were the times that we lived in. Those were the days, and even the most erudite, charismatic black women had hot combs and pressed hairs. I mean it didn't get any more than that, the early days of Mahalia Jackson was one of our superstars, but her hair was still pressed
…”
[8]
|
|
Illustration from the book
Hot Comb
by Ebony Flowers, 2019
|
|
Professor
Barbara Ransby
(1957 - ) said her mother wanted her to look like childhood actress Shirley Temple: “
My mother wanted to design my hair like Shirley Temple. So we were sitting in the kitchen, and I don't know if you recall the era when black women would sit in the kitchen and put a hot comb on the stove and, you know, really get all of the curls and the kinks out of the hair… you smelled the burning hair…
.”
[9]
For chemist
Sharon Haynie
(1955 - ) the hot comb experience was combined with paper bag curlers: “…
my mother would lightly use the hot comb to, to comb out my hair and to curl it with paper bag curlers. So she'd take a paper bag and roll it up to give me, you know, lots of little curls. And so the memory of a burning hot iron (laughter) with those paper bags is a very searing memory
.”
[10]
|
|
For broadcast journalist
Roz Abrams (1948-)
the hot comb was better than a perm:
“ I was afraid to get perms, because if you get enough of them, your hair is going to fall out. I would try and press it, but then I'd put the hot comb too close to your face, and they you got a big old white mark where the skin has burned away.”
[11]
Then for former NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund president
Elaine Jones
(1944 - ), the hot comb was a way to make herself presentable for a job interview after graduating from the University of Virginia Law School: “
I had a big afro on my first and second year, but I straightened that hair that summer [1970]… found a hot comb and got rid of the Nehru jacket and all, and got very serious and put on the little business suit. We called it a uniform, the little two piece and had the hair straight and showed up for the bar exam… see you know I'm going to stand out, because I'm African American. I don't need to show up there with a Nehru jacket and an afro
.”
[12]
|
|
Hot combs are still in use today, but they have been replaced by perms, natural hair, weaves and braids, but the warm memories of them still prevail.
|
|
We would like to thank our college student brand ambassadors, Shanita Sanders of Arkansas State University and Syerra Williams of Morgan State University, for their contributions to this article.
|
|
[1]
“When Were Hair Straighteners Invented? Our Fun Look At Grooming History,”
allaboutthegloss.com
. March 7, 2020.
[2]
Bernice Johnson Reagon (The HistoryMakers A2003.231), interviewed by Larry Crowe, September 22, 2003, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 5, story 4, Bernice Reagon remembers learning that Black is Beautiful (part 1).
[3]
Meli'sa Morgan (The HistoryMakers A2016.027), interviewed by Harriette Cole, September 23, 2016, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 1, story 6, Meli'sa Morgan describes her earliest childhood memory.
[4]
Olive Lee Benson (The HistoryMakers A2005.025), interviewed by Robert Hayden, January 26, 2005, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 1, story 7, Olive Benson remembers her father playing both parental roles after her mother died.
[5]
Monica Pearson (The HistoryMakers A2006.030), interviewed by Evelyn Pounds, February 21, 2006, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 6, Monica Pearson recalls her family's Easter and Christmas celebrations.
[6]
Randolph Noel Stone (The HistoryMakers A2008.011), interviewed by Cheryl Butler, February 5, 2008, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 1, story 9, Randolph Noel Stone recalls his neighborhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
[7]
Reverend Charles Richard Stith (The HistoryMakers A2005.076), interviewed by Robert Hayden, March 23, 2005, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 5, Reverend Charles Richard Stith recalls his experience at Soldan High School, pt. 2.
[8]
Bishop T.D. Jakes (The HistoryMakers A2010.106), interviewed by Julieanna L. Richardson, August 25, 2010, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 2, Bishop T.D. Jakes remembers the black barbershops of his childhood.
[9]
Barbara Ransby (The HistoryMakers A2012.016), interviewed by Larry Crowe, January 19, 2012, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 1, story 8, Barbara Ransby describes her earliest childhood memories.
[10]
Sharon Haynie (The HistoryMakers A2013.080), interviewed by Larry Crowe, March 24, 2013, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 2, story 6, Sharon Haynie describes her earliest childhood memory.
[11]
Roz Abrams (The HistoryMakers A2014.044), interviewed by Julieanna L. Richardson, March 17, 2014, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 5, story 3, Roz Abrams talks about learning to fulfill beauty standards as an anchorwoman.
[12]
Elaine Jones (The HistoryMakers A2006.151), interviewed by Julieanna L. Richardson, March 6, 2007, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 2, tape 6, story 9, Elaine Jones remembers passing the bar exam in Virginia.
|
|
"
The Only Helping Hand You Have is the One at the End of Your Arm
."
Gwendolyn Smith Iloani
Founder, Smith Whiley & Company
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
