Black in the Day: Barrettes, Blue Magic and Other Ways We Laid Our Hair

Black in the Day is an ongoing series about Black nostalgia that covers very specific topics. This week it’s all about hairstyles and the products that shaped our manes from the ’80s to the early 2000s. 

What is your earliest memory of getting your hair done? Did you have a kiddy perm or was your hair pressed in the kitchen with a hot comb? Did you always have braids with the different colored accessories to match your outfit? Were you more adventurous with your hair and decided to get an asymmetrical cut? No matter what your signature hairstyle was when you were growing up, you probably have a similar story to most Black people in America.

As we got older, some of the hairstyles changed. Many girls started to wear weaves while others decided to wear hairstyles that many celebrities were wearing like the invisible braids. There were even trendy hairstyles like the Jheri curl and S-curl that were popular at one time.

There were also certain staple products that stayed in the house no matter what. Almost everyone had the orange can of Murray’s hair dressing pomade as well as Luster’s pink oil moisturizing hair lotion. For the girls, we also had a box of all types of hair accessories like the colorful barrettes, scrunchies, those elastic ponytail holders that had a different name based on where you grew up and so much more. For the boys, they had the products that helped them get their waves “on swim” and most importantly a durag to protect those waves.

Black hairstyles aren’t too far off from what they once were back in the day, but the nostalgia of seeing some of those trends is a feeling like no other. So check out the this video from our Black in the Day series of people giving us some of their most memorable hair stories.