The Afro Is Back
Lisette Dennis Special To The Post-Dispatch
St. Louis
Post-Dispatch (Missouri) September 13, 2002
The big hairdo of the 1960s is cropping up once again. Now, though, it's more a
statement of style than social consciousness.
Soft and fluffy, curly or kinky, wild and woolly; the Afro is back. But three
decades after its heyday, this former symbol of social and political upheaval
returns as a funky and fun fashion statement.
Singer Macy Gray sports an Afro, as does actor Gary Dourdan of the
ratings-grabbing TV show "CSI." Rocker Lenny Kravitz's 'fro seems to
grow larger every time he appears in public.
The style is quickly making its way through the streets of The Lou.
"It is definitely coming back," confirms Denise Edgar, hairstylist and
owner of D-Zine, 6679 Delmar Boulevard in University City. The salon creates
multicultural styles for an ethnically diverse clientele.
Edgar first spotted the trend some months ago in photos of runway models in
Paris and New York. Soon after, she says, her clients began requesting the look.
The new Afro isn't a replica of the all-natural, spherical 1960s style; it's
more of an enhanced reinterpretation. This time around, the shape tends to be
"tighter in the nape and more curved in the back," according to Edgar.
And in a world of increasing ethnic multiplicity, the definition has broadened.
The bulbous, natural curls of "American Idol" finalist Justin
Guarini, for example, fit many people's definition of "Afro."