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The Jheri curl (often spelled Jerry curl or Jeri Curl) is a permanent wave hairstyle that was popular among Black Americans during the 1980s and early 1990s. Invented by the hairdresser Jheri Redding, [1] the Jheri curl gives the wearer a glossy, loosely curled look. It was touted as a "wash and wear" style that was easier to care for than the other popular chemical treatment of the day, the relaxer.
A Jheri curl requires a two-part application that consists of a softener (often called a "rearranging cream") to loosen the hair, and a solution to set the curls. The rearranging cream uses pungent chemicals, causing the naturally tight curls to loosen. The looser curls are then set on perm rods and a chemical solution is then added to the hair to permanently curl it.
"Perming" is time and labor-intensive, and expensive to maintain. The chemicals required for the process often cause the wearer's natural hair to become brittle and dry.
To maintain the look of the Jheri curl, wearers are required to apply a curl activator spray and moisturizers daily, and sleep with a plastic cap over the hair to prevent it from drying out. These products are expensive; a typical bottle of activator was small, retailed from $3 to $6, and was quickly depleted. The activator in particular has the undesirable side effect of being very greasy, and often stains clothing and furniture.
Washing the hair cleanses it of the styling products and also shows the damage done to the hair by the chemical process. As the hair grows out, the wearer is required to touch up the new hair growth, further adding to the overall expense.
To resolve the problems associated with the cost of the look, Comer Cottrell invented a cheap kit (which he called the "Curly Kit") that could be used at home, thereby enabling lower-income people to copy the style of their idols. [2]
Edmund Sylvers was the first African-American artist to have the Jheri curl on an album cover, on his 1980 Casblanca release Have You Heard. [3]
The Jheri curl was worn by Michael Jackson on the cover of his hit album Thriller , which was released in 1982. Jackson also grew out his Jheri curl in 1986, which is shown on the cover of his 1987 album Bad. He also wore wigs.
Other notable wearers of the style in the 1980s and early 1990s include rappers MC Eiht, DJ Quik, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Hi-C, Arabian Prince and B.G. Knocc Out.
Singer and songwriter India Arie referenced Jheri curls in her song "I Am Not My Hair", released in 2005. [4] R&B singer Jorja Smith mentioned Jheri curls in her feature on the song "Peng Black Girls", by Enny, released in 2020. [5]
Keenen Ivory Wayans played a character entitled "Jeri Curl" in the 1987 Robert Townsend film Hollywood Shuffle .
The 1988 comedy Coming to America features Eriq La Salle as Darryl Jenks, heir to the dynasty of a fictional product named "SoulGlo", which gave the wearer a style reminiscent of a Jheri curl while leaving the infamous greasy residue on soft furnishings.
In Samuel L. Jackson's opening monologue in the 1989 film Do the Right Thing , his character (DJ) explains that there is a "Jheri Curl alert" in effect for the day: "If you have a Jheri Curl, stay in the house or you'll end up with a permanent plastic helmet on your head forever." [6]
One of Wayans' recurring characters on In Living Color , Frenchy, also sported a Jheri curl. When attending an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and hearing others testify to how much they used to drink, Frenchy claimed he was previously "up to three and a half bottles of TCB Lite a day; I switched over to Afro Sheen, and I'm never dry!" [7]
In Living Color also featured a clip called Great Moments in Black History with a spoof of how the Jheri curl was invented. It showed an auto repair shop in July 1979 where a black mechanic with afro named Jerome Johnson was working under a car on a lift. Oil leaked out of the car onto his hair which created Jheri curls, making him famous for inventing it by accident. It then showed a lineup of black men with afros waiting to go under the car to have oil poured on their hair so they could get Jheri curls too. [8]
The character Jules Winnfield (played by Samuel L. Jackson) wears a Jheri curl in the 1994 drama Pulp Fiction .
Los Angeles Lakers basketball player Billy Ray Bates was reported to be unpopular with other players "because he had a really moist Jheri curl, and the ball would get all slippery." [9]
A hairstyle, hairdo, haircut, or coiffure refers to the styling of hair, usually on the human head but sometimes on the face or body. The fashioning of hair can be considered an aspect of personal grooming, fashion, and cosmetics, although practical, cultural, and popular considerations also influence some hairstyles.
The afro is a hair style created by combing out natural growth of afro-textured hair, or specifically styled with chemical curling products by individuals with naturally curly or straight hair. The hairstyle can be created by combing the hair away from the scalp, dispersing a distinctive curl pattern, and forming the hair into a rounded shape, much like a cloud or puff ball.
A permanent wave, commonly called a perm or permanent, is a hairstyle consisting of waves or curls set into the hair. The curls may last a number of months, hence the name.
Hi-top fade is a haircut where hair on the sides is cut off or kept very short while hair on the top of the head is grown long.
A relaxer is a type of lotion or cream generally used by people with tight curls or very curly hair which makes hair easier to straighten by chemically "relaxing" the natural curls. The active agent is usually a strong alkali, although some formulations are based on ammonium thioglycolate or formaldehyde.
The conk was a hairstyle popular among African-American men from the 1920s up to the early-to-mid 1960s. This hairstyle called for a man with naturally "kinky" hair to have it chemically straightened using a relaxer called congolene, an initially homemade hair straightener gel made from the extremely corrosive chemical lye which was often mixed with eggs and potatoes. The applier had to wear gloves and the solution timed just right on the applicant's head and then thoroughly rinsed out with cold water to avoid chemical burns. The desired outcome was for the newly straightened hair to be easily styled in the popular "conk" style of that era.
"Back to My Roots" is a song by American dance music singer and drag queen RuPaul, released as the fourth single from his album Supermodel of the World, released on April 27, 1993. Although the single failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, it reached number one on the Hot Dance Club Play chart in July 1993 and helped to further establish RuPaul's popularity, particularly with both the dance music and LGBT audiences in the United States.
A punch perm is a type of tightly permed male hairstyle in Japan. From the 1970s until the mid-1990s, it was popular among yakuza, chinpira, bōsōzoku, truck drivers, construction workers, and enka singers. The punch perm began to fall out of usage as a result of its general association with the yakuza, as well as normal fashion trends. The style is similar to the Jheri curl, which was popular in the United States during roughly the same time frame, but the curls in a punch perm are much tighter.
Kinky hair known as afro-textured hair, is a human hair texture prevalent in the indigenous populations of many regions with hot climates, mainly sub-Saharan Africa, some areas of Melanesia, and Australia. Each strand of this hair type grows in a repeating pattern of small contiguous kinks which can be classified as tight twists and sharp folds. These numerous kinks make kinky hair appear denser than straight, wavy, and other curly hair types.
Jheri Redding was an American hairdresser, chemist, hair-care products entrepreneur and businessman. Redding is best known for having created the Jheri curl.
Hair straightening is a hair styling technique used since the 1890s involving the flattening and straightening of hair in order to give it a smooth, streamlined, and sleek appearance. It became very popular during the 1950s among black males and females of all races. It is accomplished using a hair iron or hot comb, chemical relaxers, Japanese hair straightening, Brazilian hair straightening, or roller set/blowdryer styling. In addition, some shampoos, conditioners, and hair gels can help to make hair temporarily straight.
A digital perm is a perm that uses hot rods with the temperature regulated by a machine with a digital display, hence the name. The process is otherwise similar to that of a traditional perm. The name "digital perm" is trademarked by a Japanese company, Paimore Co. Hairstylists usually call it a "hot perm."
African-American hair or Black hair refers to hair types, textures, and styles that are linked to African-American culture, often drawing inspiration from African hair culture. It plays a major role in the identity and politics of Black culture in the United States and across the diaspora. African-American hair often has a kinky hairy texture, appearing tightly coiled and packed. Black hair has a complex history, culture, and cultural impact, including its relationship with racism.
Hairstyles in the 1980s included the mullet, tall mohawk hairstyles, jheri curls, flattops, and hi-top fades, which became popular styles. Amongst women, large hair-dos, puffed-up styles, permanent waves, and softer cuts typified the decade. Big hair that was "often permed to achieve the desired volume" is especially associated with women of the mid 1980s as well as male rockstars of that era, especially of the glam metal genre. Television shows such as Dynasty helped popularize the high volume bouffant and glamorous image associated with it.
In the Western world, the 1950s were a decade known for experimentation with new styles and culture. Following World War II and the austerity years of the post-war period, the 1950s were a time of comparative prosperity, which influenced fashion and the concept of glamour. Hairstylists invented new hairstyles for wealthy patrons. Influential hairstylists of the period include Sydney Guilaroff, Alexandre of Paris and Raymond Bessone, who took French hair fashion to Hollywood, New York and London, popularising the pickle cut, the pixie cut and bouffant hairstyles.
Discrimination based on hair texture, also known as textureism, is a form of social injustice, where afro-textured hair or coarse hair types, and their associated hair styles, are viewed negatively, often perceived as "unprofessional", "unattractive", or "unclean". This view can lead, for example, to some school students being excluded from class.
Comer Joseph Cottrell Jr. was an American entrepreneur most notable for founding Pro-Line Corp., a business that created the Curly Kit, which brought the Jheri curl hairstyle to the masses and made it easy to achieve at home.
The natural hair movement is a movement which aims to encourage people of African descent to embrace their natural, afro-textured hair; especially in the workplace. It originated in the United States during the 1960s, and resurged in popularity in the 2000s.
Willie Lee Morrow was an American barber, businessman and inventor, who worked in the African American haircare industry. He was noted for inventing the Afro pick and developing the forerunner to the Jheri curl hairstyle.
Laid edges, also called slayed edges or swooped edges, refers to a style of arranging the fine "baby hairs" at the edge of the hairline into flat, decorative waves or swirls. The style is sometimes referred to as simply baby hairs, and originates with African-American fashions of the 1990s.
Media related to Jheri curl at Wikimedia Commons
The dictionary definition of jheri curl at Wiktionary