Natural hair and Afro hairstyle facts are currently two of the highest searched keywords, and we have rounded up several statistics for you. As people are embracing and celebrating their curls and afros, we thought it’s important to learn facts about these fantastic hair textures. Keep reading because we brought them all!
Facts About Afro Hair
1. Afro hair variations are made of patterns, density, strand diameter, and texture.
2. All human hair has the same elemental chemical composition regarding keratin protein content.
3. Black hair differs in the distribution of lipids throughout the hair shaft.
4. Afro-textured hair is not as densely concentrated on the scalp as other follicle types.
5. The average density of afro hair is approximately 190 hairs per square centimeter. This is lower than straight hair, which has 227 hairs per square centimeter.
6. Afro hair grows at a slower pace than straight hair.
7. Afro-textured hair grows at a rate of 256 micrometers per day, whereas straight hair grows approximately 396 micrometers per day.
8. One of afro hair’s unique characteristics is that it shrinks when it dries.
9. Shrinkage is evident when afro hair is wet. The more coiled the hair texture, the higher its shrinkage when it dries.
Black Hair History Facts
10. Ulotrichous refers to afro-textured hair, and its antonym leiotrichous means “smooth-haired”).
11. Jean Baptiste Bory de Saint-Vincent introduced the scientific term Oulotrichi for the purpose of human taxonomy in 1825.
12. Hairstylist Andre Walker invented a numerical grading system for human hair types in 1997.
13. The Andre Walker Hair Typing System classifies afro-textured hair as type 4 hair.
14. The subcategory of type 4C is most exemplary of the afro-textured hair.
15. Black hairstyles such as box braids, dreadlocks, and afro shape-ups date from ancient Egypt.
16. Dreadlock’s earliest known style recordings were found in the Hindu Vedic scriptures.
17. Dreadlocks are also present in 20th-century Jamaican and Rastafarian cultures.
18. In West African communities, braids signified marital status, age, religion, wealth, and rank.
19. Nigerian housewives in polygamous marriages created the style known as “kohin-sorogun,” meaning “turn your back to the jealous rival wife,” with a pattern that, when seen from behind, taunted the other wives.
20. Senegal’s Wolof unmarried young girls shaved their heads.
21. Senegalese young men braided their hair in preparation for war and death.
22. Bantu translates “people” among many African languages and is used to categorize over 400 ethnic groups in Africa.
23. Bantu knots are also called Zulu knots because the Zulu people of South Africa, a Bantu ethnic group, originated the hairstyle. Bantu knots are also referred to as Nubian knots.
Black History Month Facts
24. Carter G. Woodson, an African American historian, founded Negro History Week to celebrate Black Americans’ history, lives, and contributions to American society in 1926.
25. In 1976, Negro History Week became a month-long celebration under President Gerald Ford.
26. Black History Month is celebrated in February because that’s President Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass’ birthdays month.
27. Every year, a theme for Black History Month is chosen by Asociation for the Study of African American Life and History; ASALH.
28. Civil Right Leaders such as Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Mary White Ovington, and Martin Luther King Jr. popularized Black History Month.
29. Black History Month is celebrated in other countries outside the United States. Such countries are Canada, the Netherlands, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
30. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act of 1957 to protect the civil rights of Black Americans against discrimination.
31. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) were established to provide higher education opportunities to Black Americans.
32. Madame C.J. Walker became a self-made millionaire In the 1900s thanks to her hair care products.
Black Hair Industry Statistics 2022
33. Statistics show that 82% of Black Americans say it’s important to be well-groomed.
34. African-Americans spend $1.2 trillion each year in the beauty industry, which is projected to rise to $1.5 trillion.
35. In 2018, the Black hair care industry gained an estimated $2.51 billion. Black consumers have switched from buying general to natural hair products.
36. Black American consumers spent 5.4% more on personal care products in 2020, 2% higher than the national average.
37. Black American women who opt for natural hair products are the targeted hair care market consumer.
38. Black dollars make up 85.7% of the ethnic hair & beauty market.
39. Black consumers spent $54.4M on ethnic hair & beauty products out of $63.5M in total spending on this category.
40. Black men contribute $62M of spending out of a total of $308.3M on personal care products.
41. 81% of Black Americans agree that hair and beauty products advertised through black media are more relevant to their beauty needs.
42. 43% of black spending power can be attributed to women.
43. Personal soap & bath products are another personal care category where black people spend more than other ethnicities in the United States.
44. Black Americans spend 18.9% of the total $3.04B personal soap and bath product market.
45. Black people spend, on average, 18% of their annual income on hair care and beauty products in the United States.
46. Black women account for 80% of hair product revenues in the United Kingdom.
47. 51% of black consumers use hair styling products, while only 34% of non-black consumers use styling products.
48. 50% of black consumers say that their hair is central to their identity.
49. 20% of black consumers prefer to buy hair products for natural hair but say there aren’t enough products for their hair needs.
50. 43% of black women say they use five or more hair products.
51. 59% of black women aged 18–24 use deep conditioning treatments.
52. 58% of black women aged 18–24 use edge control products.
Sources: americanwhotellthetruth, history.com, archive.com, divinablk, seriouslynatural, waybackmachine, Ebony, History, AdWeek, Asalh, BestColleges, CivilRightsDigitalLibrary, Essence, EWG, CurlCentric, Mintel.
