I did a quick search on the internet for some information about Black hair — kind of like a then and now. More specifically, I felt like we focus so much on the present & maybe… go back to the 60’s or 70’s when afro’s were all the rage in protest of poverty, racism but also a Black is Beautiful movement. But I’ve realized that I don’t know much about what slaves used to do with their hair.
How was hair styled during slavery. Frequently, it seems like we see images of slaves with head scarves or hair that is just plain unkempt — for obvious reasons. But I want to dig deeper into what our ancestors used to do. What did the men do with their hair? How did mother’s style their little girl’s hair?
So here are a few links of interest & I’m going to read the article (b/c it’s a .pdf) and order the book from Amazon.com.
The article called, Slave Hair and African American Culture in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, by Shane White & Graham White was published in the Journal of Southern History: Vol. 61, No. 1 (Feb., 1995), pp. 45-76. http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/2211360.pdf
Available of Jstor.org
The book I found, Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America (Paperback), by Ayana Byrd & Laurie Tharps seems like a good read as it covers “social, cultural and economic significance of African-American hair from 1400 to the present,” which is exactly what I’m looking for. http://www.amazon.com/Hair-Story-Untangling-Roots-America/dp/0312283229 
I hope you join me in reading these great finds and telling me about your great finds in the process!
Okkkk So I have to make an addition to this post! I was just able to read a few pages of this book, courtesy of Amazon.com. Thank God I’m Natural–The Ultimate Guide to Caring for and Maintaining Natural Hair (Paperback)~ Chris-Tia Donaldson. http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Ultimate-Caring-Maintaining-Natural/dp/098209440X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1268753209&sr=8-1 
Happy Reading!
xoxo
Natural Hair Don't Care 