In curly defiance: Egyptian youth take back their looks
By Vivian Yee
Normal text size
Advertisement
Cairo: There is a TV commercial from the 1980s that some Egyptians remember well: two women stand at a mirror one with thick, dark curls; the other draped in sleek, glossy tresses.
“My hair is curly,” says the first, pouting slightly as she struggles with a comb. “I would love to style it nicely for this wedding.”
“Curly hair not a problem,” the other woman reassures her. “Come, we still have time.”
One application of the product straightening cream later, the first woman is back at the mirror, the comb gliding easily through her smoothed-out hair.
In curly defiance: Egyptian youth take back their looks watoday.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from watoday.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Freedom of Natural Curls: Egyptâs Quiet Rebellion
For decades, many Egyptians have been straightening their hair to fit a conservative, Western-influenced beauty standard. Many younger Egyptians are rejecting all that.
A salon in Cairo: For some women, curly hair is a form of defiance.Credit.Sima Diab for The New York Times
CAIRO â Thereâs a TV commercial from the 1980s that some Egyptians remember well: Two women stand at a mirror, one with thick, dark curls, the other draped in sleek, glossy tresses.
âMy hair is curly,â says the first, pouting slightly as she struggles with a comb. âI would love to style it nicely for this wedding.â