How Kamala Harris’ Signature Tresses Became a Gen-Z Hit

When vice president Kamala Harris sat down for an interview with actress Keke Palmer last year, it was intended to shed light on the issue of Black maternal health. Then a 30-second clip of a hair-related digression took on a life of its own, resurfacing in recent weeks following news that Harris would be running for president.

“So, how many times a month do you get a silk press?” Palmer asks in the facetious aside, referring to a hair treatment that uses heat to straighten and style curly hair. Harris willingly answers with her full hair routine: no curling iron, just a boar bristle brush and blow dryer.

This styling tip has since been dubbed the “Presidential Silk Press.” On TikTok, creators use the audio from the clip to film themselves replicating the Harris’ silk press method, racking up millions of views. Her hair is a popular topic elsewhere on the internet too: On the day Harris announced her bid for presidency, Google searches for “Kamala Harris hair” increased by 809 percent compared to 10 days earlier.

Harris’ candidacy and her cultural cache among Gen-Z — as demonstrated by an endorsement of sorts from Charli XCX — is bringing renewed interest to the silk press, a century-old way of styling hair that became a symbol of assimilation for Black Americans in the 20th century. Facing discrimination, they sought ways to meet white standards of appearance.

Harris’ choice to sport the silk press, a style that requires frequent maintenance, is also rooted in a desire to project deference to the status quo, hair experts say. It’s a chilling reminder that despite recent progress toward inclusion, there is still considerable pressure for women of colour in high-profile public roles to pursue Western codes of beauty.

“If she were running in New York, she could probably win with an afro,” said Paula Broadwater, founder and owner of Harlem Natural Hair, a salon specialising in textured styles. “Unfortunately, we are still living in an America that is still pretty racially divided, and not ruffling feathers by wearing her hair straight may be what she needs to do to get policy passed.”

Former First Lady Michelle Obama recently echoed this sentiment. She said during her book tour she would have preferred to wear her hair in braids while she was in the White House, but that Americans “weren’t ready.”

For many young Black women today, however, the silk press doesn’t have to be tainted by the violent history of slavery. Gen-Z are entering the workforce at a time when hair-based discrimination is prohibited in 26 states under the the Crown Act. For them, the silk press is an attractive option for when they want to wear their hair straight, such as for special occasions. It’s also a healthier alternative to using chemical straighteners like relaxers, which have been linked to cancer.

With Harris as its accidental evangelist, the silk press has made an unlikely comeback among young people.

“For a while it was either you wore your hair straight using relaxers or you were natural,” said Mekalae Nish, a graduate student based in Maryland. “It’s great that I can have it both ways.”

The Silk Press Reclaimed

For more than a century, Black people in the US have been straightening their hair as an act of survival. Today, the stakes are markedly lower, and for young consumers, it has become just another hairstyle option, next to braids, twists and weaves.

The silk press was popularised in the early 1900s to straighten curly, coily and tight textured hair. Pioneered by Madam CJ Walker, the founder of a beauty line made exclusively for Black people, the early “hot comb” method uses a heated comb to press the curly strands into silky straight hair. This technique quickly fell out of favour, however, as chemical hair relaxers entered the market. According to a 2020 study, 89 percent of Black women in the US have used a hair relaxer.

But trends have shifted toward natural hairstyles in the past two decades in a pushback against Eurocentric ideals of beauty. More recently, hair relaxers have been linked to ovarian, breast and uterine cancer. Sales in the category have fallen from $71 million in 2011 to $30 million in 2021, according to market research firm Kline & Co.

The original silk press straightening method, on the other hand, is far less hazardous, requiring heat to manipulate the strands. A salon silk press involves cleansing the hair to strip it off product build-up and adding moisture through conditioners and keratin treatments and sealing the strands with a water-based heat protectant. The locks are then blow dried using a round brush to achieve bouncy curls, and if necessary, some stylists flat iron the hair to ensure it is straight. The style typically lasts for a week or until one’s hair gets wet.

While it hasn’t shed all of its historical markers, many accept it as a natural enough way of doing one’s hair — albeit an expensive one to maintain.

“Wearing your hair straight today is about choice. And that’s very empowering,” said Broadwater, who, in the last few years, has seen fewer clients who exclusively wear their hair straight.

The Kamala Effect

For voters like Nish, the vice president’s silk press makes her relatable. In her eyes, she said, Harris would pass the infamous beer test of 2000, in which voters were asked which of the two candidates they were more interested in having a beer with, if the question centred on sharing beauty tips instead.

For Tyla Morgan-Jones, 26, a beauty marketer based in London, getting a silk press is a way of pledging support for Harris’ candidacy.

“Even from afar, we are rooting for her,” said Morgan-Jones. “If she wins, she’ll be making history and we hope that enthusiasm will trickle down to the UK as well.”

Despite the history of the silk press and the politics of expression in the White House, according to Desiree Rogers, former White House Social Secretary to President Obama, it would be inauthentic if Harris were to change her look now.

“This is who she is, and there is a comfort there,” said Rogers. “We may not agree with everything but we know … she is definitely not a person who is going to deviate from who she is.”

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