In Egypt, natural curls were considered “unkempt,” “messy,” and “unprofessional.” At one time, Western beauty with sleek, straight hair was preferred and curls were scorned.
For Rola Amer and Sara Safwat, curly hair was once a nuisance that hindered their careers, but as part of Egypt’s recent sweeping aesthetic liberation movement, they now run a curling salon catering to women and men like themselves, and social media has made curly hair cool again in Cairo.
Doa Ghawish has seen how other cultures have influenced what is considered beautiful and acceptable in Egypt, and how that has changed in recent years. “I think we are heavily influenced by Western beauty standards. In the past, Egyptians rejected curly hair. But recently, following the ‘Heat Free Challenge’ movement, people have started to embrace their natural hair. Also, young girls today are rebelling against the rules set by the older generation, helping the natural hair movement grow,” said the founder of the Facebook group Hair Addicts.
As black women in the United States increasingly embraced curly hair as part of the natural hair care movement, many of the major brands launched by black women at the time were soon on the shelves of Cairo’s curling salons.
“Before, only girls with straight hair were considered beautiful. Now, people are more accepting of natural hair,” says Amany Mostafa, who lives in Egypt.
Mariam Ashraf, a teacher and natural hair influencer, has seen this market potential first-hand. What started as just a hobby, her Instagram videos quickly became a “real source of income.” “My content is focused on empowering girls to know, understand and love their natural hair. I create videos on how to take care of their hair,” she says.
Ever since cybersecurity professional Omar Rahim discovered he had accidentally grown curly hair during the coronavirus lockdown, he’s been happy to shell out the cash to maintain his style. “Some of my friends tease me because I’m a guy and I take care of my hair, but I don’t care. It’s good to take care of your appearance and curly hair is an asset,” Rahim says.
The average monthly salary in Egypt is 6,000 pounds ($325), but a haircut at Curly Studio costs about a tenth of that.
