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Home • Black History Month

The Best Hair Moments in Entertainment

From movies to music, Black hair always makes a statement. So for Black History Month, we decided to review our favorite hairstyles from some of the most iconic Black entertainers of all time.
By Crystal G. Martin · Updated October 27, 2020
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01
Beyoncé in “Deja Vu”

The video’s energy was frenetic, matching the song’s my-memory-of-you-is-driving-me-insane message. Beyoncé’s mane, in all its sexy, beautiful, messy glory drove the point home.

Best Celeb Tress Moments in Entertainment
02
Whitney Houston in “I Want to Dance with Somebody”

We couldn’t get enough of Whitney’s ingenue look in “I Want to Dance with Somebody” —the pastel makeup, the dress, and those curls! Her hair set the pace for ’80s ringlets around the world: bigger was definitely better.

Best Celeb Tress Moments in Entertainment
03
Mariah Carey in “Vision of Love”

Mariah’s curls in “Vision of Love” were the envy of every girl in the early ’90s.

Best Celeb Tress Moments in Entertainment
04
Dorothy Dandrige in Carmen Jones
This 1954 musical remains a classic, as Carmen (Dorothy Dandridge) and Joe (Harry Belafonte) discover a forbidden love. The starlet’s romantic curls were the prototype for 1950s style.
Best Celeb Tress Moments in Entertainment
05
Josephine Baker in the Danse Banane

Legendary entertainer Josephine Baker’s flapper-chic spit curls set the Black hair standard during the Roaring Twenties.

Best Celeb Tress Moments in Entertainment
06
Salt ‘n Pepa

In the late Eighties, legendary rappers Salt and Pepa (plus their deejay, Spinderella), kick-started the asymmetric hairstyle trend with their short-on-one-side, long-on-the-other styles.

Best Celeb Tress Moments in Entertainment
07
Janet Jackson at the 1993 Grammys

You weren’t truly living in 1993-1994 if you didn’t walk into a salon and ask for “Poetic Justice” or “Janet Jackson” braids. They were everything. When the pop icon rocked them to the Grammys the style become one of the most memorable of the decade.

Best Celeb Tress Moments in Entertainment
08
Cicely Tyson in East Side/West Side

As a star on “East Side/West Side” in the mid-60’s, Oscar-nominated actress Cicely Tyson was the first Black woman to wear cornrows on TV!

Best Celeb Tress Moments in Entertainment
09
Pam Grier in Foxy Brown

In the Seventies, Pam Grier made a name for herself not only for her iconic roles in blaxploitation flicks like Foxxy Brown, but also for her super-big, sexy afro.

Best Celeb Tress Moments in Entertainment
10
Aaliyah at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards

What girl doesn’t remember watching the VMAs that year, swooning over Aaliyah’s pefectly sleek so-black-it’s-almost-blue hair? She really seemed to come into her own, mature but still sweet and playful.

Best Celeb Tress Moments in Entertainment
11
Patti LaBelle at the 1989 Soul Train Awards
LaBelle had so many wildly original hair moments, it’s tough to pick a favorite. But we love how LaBelle’s cotton candy hair embodies the big-haired beauty of the ’80s.
Best Celeb Tress Moments in Entertainment