This is what Ancient Egyptians used to comb their hair.

This is what Ancient Egyptians used to comb their hair.

This is what Ancient Egyptians used to comb their hair.

The origins of the afro comb can be traced back to Africa. Archaeologists unearthed combs that resemble afro combs that could be 7000 years old. These combs were found in Kush and Kemet – ancient Egyptian civilizations that are today Sudan, South Sudan and Egypt. The long-toothed Kemet combs were decorated with birds, bulls’ horns, hippopotamus. This shows the civilization’s respect for nature. Some of the Kemet combs also has images of people on them.

Thousands of years after the Kemet and Kush created its beautiful combs. The comb was initially made of wood, but was later mass-produced in plastic and became more available to the general public. By mass-producing the afro comb, the popularity of the original rigid wooden combs decreased.

At the end of the 1960s, the Black Power Movement — a movement that emphasized racial pride, and economic empowerment — used the afro comb as more than hairstyling tool. The comb was used as a political emblem and a signature of a collective identity. By wearing the comb in your hair, you were part of a kind of comradeship amongst those who have black pride and whose hair grows up and out into a beautiful afro. Embracing natural hair become the norm, and the afro comb was the tool of choice.

In 1972, the iconic Black Power Fist comb was produced by an Italian businessman, Anthony R. Romani. It was reminiscent of the 1968 Black Power salute by Olympians Tommie Smith and John Carlos in Berlin.