This article is in partnership with Tangle Teezer to celebrate Black History Month. 

Although there is no doubt that black hair has been historically maligned, in 2022 it is not hard to see how Black British women have begun to reclaim space for afro hair.

Be it through the community filled interactions in salons and kitchen sinks across the UK, or via the beloved products that fill our shopping baskets and washday arsenals in order to help us nourish and style our ’fros proudly. A generation-spanning relationship that to date now drives around 10 percent of the UK's hair-care spending – caring for black hair in all it’s forms has been intrinsic to the very fabric of the Black British experience.

Due to its structure, afro-textured hair relies on love and care which means the products – whether it was your first relaxer box, braid-lengthening packets of Xpressions, or more recent afro led tools from Tangle Teezer – are integral to the physical shaping of our coils and kinks, alongside our relationship to our hair.

This connection to our hair often means that finding products that work for your kinks and swirls provides a gateway for true expression of our identities. Black Hair speaks. From Fulani braids to silk press quiffs, for black women hairstyles are an indication of heritage, personal style as well as a celebration of the continuous innovation black hair provokes.

For years, prioritising hydrating of our strands, staving off damage and loving our hair was not supported by a single shelf of afro haircare products in drugstores on the high street shops, but through ever changing styles and positive experimentation, black women have fostered an ecosystem. A culture filled with inspiration that according to multidisciplinary artist and editorial hairstyle, Joy Matashi, was bolstered by representation in media.

“For me, one of my earliest recollections of seeing like black hair on screen that stopped me in my tracks was most definitely Scary Spice, aka Mel B, with her amazing golden tone coils,” Joy says. “We had musicians like Destiny's Child with their micro braids and seemingly seamless weaves, [but] as a black girl in the UK, having a Beverly Knight, a Jamelia and a Gabrielle with that perfectly parted fringe was an unmatched reminder of how great black hair can be.”

Carra is a hair platform that seeks to reconnect black women with their hair in a joyful, celebratory way. Carra founder and CEO Winnie Awe makes black hair and our connection to products and styling not one to be underestimated as mere materialism.

“Madam CJ Walker is often cited on the history of black hair dressing or business, however, little is known of Winifred Atwell. With over 20 million records, she was the first black person to have a hit in the UK singles chart,” Winnie explains. “She went on to set up a luxurious hair salon in Brixton – a beautiful space where black women could relax and be pampered – one of the first in the UK, at a time when black women had to straighten and style their hair in their kitchens.”

Innovation and creativity on this scale has often been at the forefront of championing black hair and it is a foundational connection that the founder deeply resonates with.

“When I think of Atwell, the salon owner (and my namesake), I think about how thanks to her background in chemistry and her understanding of the pharmaceutical industry (having worked at her dad’s pharmacy), she was able to formulate new hair treatments that catered for black hair.”

Atwell’s entrepreneurship spanned across hair through to make up for darker skin and skin coloured tights, however when “looking at old archive images of her salon space, so chic, so us, I can’t help but wish it were around today,” says Winnie. It is why the hair expert explains that perseverance is the key to the celebration of Black British hair.

“Seventy plus years on, today, it is the spirit of historic figures like Winifred Atwell that drives us at Carra to dream up wonderful, tech-forward ways of personalising the black hair care experience,” says Winnie. “For many of us UK haircare entrepreneurs, pushing the boundaries in tech, products, extensions or experiences, we are literally building on the legacy of Winifred Atwell and it is a joy to see. I think next 70 years will look very different.”

The impact of grassroots research and development within the black hair space and the impact of black women on black hair’s place in UK history is something Joy Matashi also emphasises as key to cementing cultural moments for Black Britons.

“When I think about afro hair in the UK now, I immediately think of people like Charlotte Mensah. Along with her many endeavours within industry, we have captured moments like the Little Simz’s Sunday Times Style cover. A black musician wearing a traditionally black hairstyle, crafted to the last strand is no small thing.”

It is hard, explains Joy, to celebrate black hair in the UK in it’s entirety without spotlighting “the black high street hair salon”.

“[In my teenage years] Willesden Green High Street was my go to for a hair appointment. It was filled salons owned by talented Jamaican women who did the most amazing hair with a level of hospitality to match.”

“[The salons] would always smell like hot combs and [hair] product, and you left feeling like you were this incredible, glamorous child – which for young black girls is a powerful thing.”

From magazine covers to bustling salons, for Black British women, hair has always been integral to how we choose to show up in the world. Black hair’s ability to become a visual representation of the creativity, tenacity and triumphs of black women is indisputable. So in 2022, as the push to hire more trained Black hair stylists on sets and overturn the status quos that has often boxed out black hair – there has never been a better time to celebrate your 'fro.