Conk
3030291
226185820
2008-07-17T06:05:29Z
71.232.145.127
{{unreferenced|date=October 2007}}
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Garner.gif|thumb|right|[[Erroll Garner]] with [[straightened hair]] on his head|{{deletable image-caption|1=Friday, 4 April 2008}}]] -->
The '''conk''' was a [[hairstyle]] popular among [[Afro-American]] men from the 1920s to the 1960s. This hairstyle called for a man with [[Natural afro-hair|naturally "kinky" hair]] to have it chemically [[hair straightening|straightened]] using a [[relaxer]] (sometimes pure [[lye]]), so that the newly straightened hair could be styled in specific ways. Conks were often styled as large [[Pompadour (hairstyle)|pompadour]]s although other men chose to simply slick their straightened hair back, allowing it to lie flat on their heads. Regardless of the styling, conks required a considerable amount of effort to maintain: a man often had to wear a [[do-rag]] of some sort at home, to prevent [[sweat]] or other agents from causing his hair to revert to its natural state prematurely. Also, the style required repeated application of relaxers; as new hair grew in, it too had to be chemically straightened.
Many of the popular [[musicians]] of the early to mid 20th century, including [[Chuck Berry]], [[Louis Jordan]], [[Little Richard]], [[James Brown (musician)|James Brown]], and the members of [[The Temptations]] and [[The Miracles]], were well known for sporting the conk hairstyle. The gatefold of the 1968 album ''[[Electric Mud]]'' shows blues legend [[Muddy Waters]] having his hair conked. The style fell out of popularity when the [[Black Power]] movement of the 1960s took hold, and the [[Afro]] became a popular symbol of African pride.
The conk is all but extinct as a hairstyle among African-American men today, although more mildly relaxed hairstyles such as the [[Jheri curl]] and the [[S-curl]] were popular during the 1980s and 1990s. Notable exceptions to this generalization are [[Al Sharpton]] and [[Michael Jackson]].
== References in popular culture ==
* In [[Malcolm X]]'s autobiography (and in the [[Malcolm X (film)|Spike Lee movie based upon it]]), the author describes how he, with the help of his friend Shorty (played by Lee in the movie), conked his hair.
[[Category:Hairstyles]]
[[Category:African American culture]]