100 Objects #18: Hair Relaxer
Summary
This episode of *A History of the United States in 100 Objects* explores the chemical hair relaxer, tracing its evolution from a survival tool for enslaved people to a major driver of Black economic wealth. It details how entrepreneurs like Madam C.J. Walker and George Johnson built empires around straightening hair, while also examining the cultural shift toward natural hair during the Black Power movement. The narrative culminates in recent scientific studies linking relaxer use to uterine cancer and fibroids, prompting a reckoning with the physical and social costs of assimilation.
Topics discussed
Sponsors: Instagram teen safety and Dell Pro laptop
Sponsor: Acura vehicle design
Introduction to Monica's Hair Salon in Brooklyn
Personal history with chemical relaxers and 'creamy crack'
Health concerns: Fibroids, cancer, and class action ads
Episode overview and introduction of historian Lori Tharps
Pre-slavery African hair traditions and identity
Enslavement: Straightening hair as survival and assimilation
Black barbers, wealth, and funding HBCUs
Madam C.J. Walker and Annie Malone: The hot comb era
Garrett Morgan's accidental discovery of lye relaxers
The 'Conch' look, jazz musicians, and Malcolm X
George Johnson and the commercialization of Ultra Sheen
Johnson's reinvestment in the Black community
FTC regulation and the Revlon competition controversy
The tension between assimilation and self-empowerment
Sponsors: Air France, US Bank, PNC, and Quince
The Black Power movement and the rise of the Afro
Workplace discrimination and the return of straight hair
Peak straight hair culture in the 80s and 90s
The natural hair movement and declining relaxer sales
Scientific studies linking relaxers to cancer and fibroids
Conclusion: Systemic racism and the cost of assimilation
Credits and final sponsor reads
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