The beauty entrepreneur who made the Jheri curl a sensation | Hacker News Reader

The beauty entrepreneur who made the Jheri curl a sensation

thehustle.co

34 pointsAnon8419 comments

In the early 2000s when I was interning the office had black men of a certain age who still wore the jheri curl. Even though we made jheri curl jokes in middle/high school, after it had become unfashionable, you weren't going to make the same jokes in front of these guys. The typical profile at the time: late 30s/40s, veteran, logistics or CDL holder, motorcyclist (typically Harley or Goldwing), and devoutly religious. Sometimes people find the style, trend, or community they like and just go all in on it.

> Sometimes people find the style, trend, or community they like and just go all in on it.

People tend to imprint on the in style of their 20s & early 30s and anchor on it for the rest of their life. For example, it's why all of a sudden Gen X men seem to be wearing oddly fashionably cut jeans.

Does that mean in a few decades we'll see old men in tight "skinny" fitting jeans that we used to normally see worn by college girls --albeit girls would wear the ankle high versions with the slits.

Pair that with dad bodies/pot bellies —Holy Moley!

One exception to this is I don’t see older women wearing “backpack” purses.

> you weren't going to make the same jokes in front of these guys.

Never fight a man with a perm.

The Jheri curl is the inspiration for "Soul Glo" in the movie "Coming to America:"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGrasobHcKA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=961x0NmyHKE

According to https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/com..., "Soul glo" is the more common term now:

> “The term should be ‘Jheri curl,’” Coming to America scholar Questlove tells Rolling Stone. “But everyone says ‘Soul Glo.’”

> Coming to America scholar Questlove

That's one mighty education focus. I mean I know the guy from his bits and music in SNL and other shows, and I saw the movie couple of times. But never expected those words joined together in such meaning, here on HN.

Yeah, I cracked up when I read that, and couldn't resist posting it here.

As soon as I read the title I could hear the "Soul Glo" song in my head and could see the scene with the back of the couch.

What really struck me is how the Jheri curl was so much more than just a hairstyle. It was about giving people a look they’d dreamed of and making it feel accessible.

The way it spread through local salons and word of mouth says a lot too. It wasn’t some huge ad campaign pushing it, it was people telling each other, trying it out, showing up proud.

I have to admit, i googled what is inside the Kit. It brought up memories, how I assisted my grandmother doing her hair.

And got Lionel Ritchie to sport it…

"My API’s got body, bounce, and shine — thanks to jheri-curl -L"

jheri-curl -v for even more bounce and shine!

oh man don't even get me started on -vvv shine

More bounce ... to the ounce.

Much more baaaaiaiounce!

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