Significance To African American Culture !!!

Though originally used by French women in Europe during the mid-19th century, the hot comb would become the foundation of the black beautician industry starting in the early 1900s. Hot combs were a significant improvement from older methods used by African-Americans during and after slavery to straighten hair, which ranged from heated butter knives and cloths, to axle grease and homemade lye. Today, hot combs are still predominantly used in black salons as a means for straightening hair without chemicals.

Before & After

Natural --> Straight

This video shows an African American female and how she uses a hot/pressing comb. It shows her hair in it's natural state, then after she washes and blow dries it. The ending of the video shows how the "comb" has straightened her hair.

Marcel Grateau: Early Contributor

In 1872, Marcel Grateau was one of the first hairdressers to use the hot comb as a way to create new wave styles for his clientele in Paris. However, Madam C.J. Walker, an entrepreneur and the first self-made African-American millionaire, would revolutionize the black hair industry by introducing the "shampoo-press-and-curl" Walker system. The kit, which was given to trained agents who sold Walker's products, included a hot comb. As a result, Walker is often credited with introducing the hot comb to black women.

Annie Turnbo Malone

By the beginning of the 1900s, Annie Malone began to revolutionize hair care methods for all African Americans. She created a variety of hair care treatments, including the first patented hot comb, which preceded the one popularized by an early employee of hers, Madam C.J. Walker. As early as 1902, she and her assistants sold her unique brand of hair care products door to door. She called it Poro, a West African name meaning physical and spiritual growth.

Legacy of Madam C.J. Walker !

Madam C.J. Walker

It is commonly believed that Madam C.J. Walker invented the hot comb. However, the tool was actually first used by the French around the year 1845. Women in Paris had been using hot combs to replicate the straight styles worn by ancient Egyptians. Also, hot combs were sold in Sears and Bloomingdale catalogs to the American public as early as the 1880s. In 1900, Walker received a patent for the hot comb, which she redesigned with wide-spaced teeth that would accommodate thick hair of various textures. As of today, the inventor of the hot comb is still unknown.

What The "Comb" Does . . .

The hot/pressing comb is a metal comb that is heated on either a range top or burner to a temperature between 300 and 500 degrees Fahrenheit. By pulling the heated comb through the hair, the pressure applied during the combing process breaks down the hair fiber's biochemical bonds. As the temperature diminishes, the bonds reconnect and keep the hair straight. Typically, the hair remains straight from one to two weeks or until it comes into contact with moisture or humidity.

Women with naturally curly, wavy or kinky hair have used hot combs for more than a century to create straight and versatile hairstyles. Over the years, the hot comb has served as an alternative for straightening hair without the use of perms and other chemical processes.