25 Years of Hair Story: The Emotions & The Impact

In February 2001, Hair Story:Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in Americawas published. That means that 2026 is the year Hair Story celebrates its 25th birthday, and it marks my 25th year as a published author. Having a book that’s 25 years old makes me feel rather old, but it also makes me feel rather proud. My first book can still be found on bookstore shelves, it is still being read, and it is still making an impact far beyond the borders of the United States. When I think back to how this book was conceived and created, I am still kind of gobsmacked that my co-author and I actually made it happen.

How it Began

Ayana Byrd and I with Michaela Angela Davis, celebrating the debut of Hair Story 2.0. in 2014.

For me, Hair Story began as my master’s thesis at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. My co-author, Ayana Byrd, wrote her undergraduate thesis on Black hair as well. When the two of us met while working at Vibe magazine, we discovered our mutual fascination with our crowning glory.

Ayana and I had both been told by our academic advisors that we should turn our theses into a book, but individually we were too overwhelmed to consider something so monumental. So, we decided to tackle writing a book together. We were both in our twenties, young journalists who had never even published a full feature story, but we were determined to write this book. And maybe we were a little naive. But still, we made a plan and got the book done.

The research and writing of Hair Story was exciting. We were both based in New York City, so we spent a lot of time at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, combing through newspaper articles, magazine advertisements, and any other ephemera that spoke to the story of our tangled roots. There was no guide book, nothing for us to imitate, and people often treated us like we were crazy when we explained that we were writing a cultural history book about Black people and their hair. But we knew we were on to something, so we didn’t give up and we wrote the best book about Black hair ever. (written without hyperbole).

Hair Story Hits the Shelves - Twice!

Hair Story:Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America was released in February 2001, before the Natural Hair Movement, before the YouTube girlies, before co-wash was a word. We charted the history of Black people’s hair from 15th century Africa to the dawn of the 21st century. And then when the Natural Hair Movement popped off, followed by a renaissance of the Black hair beauty business, we convinced our publisher, St. Martin’s Press, to allow us to update the book to include these significant additions to the Black Hair in America saga, as well as to share how the Natural Hair Movement was spreading across the United States and making its way around Europe, The Caribbean, and parts of Latin America. The updated version of Hair Story came out in 2014.

Hair Story’s Impact All Around the World

As I mentioned above, when Ayana and I had to do the research for Hair Story, we didn’t have a guidebook. There was no book that offered a chronological history of Black hair starting in Africa, that also examined the politics, economics and culture of Black hair. We had to pull from so many random sources and had to interview a range of experts from barbers to businessmen, from stylists to supermodels. It was quite a journey, but we couldn’t possibly know the impact our little book would have.

What we did know after writing Hair Story, is that Black hair influences and impacts everything from politics to religion, and that American Black hair culture has gone global. That being said, Ayana and I are still surprised when we see how many people have used Hair Story as source material for their own projects, from hair documentaries, to law suits targeting harmful hair product companies, to scientific research, to musicals. Yes, musicals.

And we love to see how Hair Story proved to the publishing world that people wanted to read books about Black hair, even beyond the United States. After Hair Story, books like Emma Dabiri’s Don’t Touch My Hair, Charlotte Mensah’s Good Hair, and picture books galore started gracing the shelves of bookstores and libraries. In other words, Hair Story helped normalize the conversation about Black hair.

Call Me Lori L. Tharps, Hairstorian

I’ve wanted to be an author since I was eight years old. However, never in my childhood dreams did I think my first book would be about Black people and their hair. And even after Hair Story came out in 2001, I couldn’t imagine the impact it would have on my career. Not only did Hair Story serve as inspiration for my book, Same Family, Different Colors, Hair Story helped me get jobs, speaking engagements all around the world, and my first assignment in The New York Times. I’ve been asked for my professional opinion on the President and First Lady’s hairstyles, and I’ve appeared in several documentaries and news shows about hair. I’ve even served as a consultant for a well-known celebrity who wanted to launch a hair-product line.

Without a doubt, I’ve had some of the most incredible experiences in my life because of Hair Story. And after over 25 years researching, writing, speaking, and studying Black hair and its impact in the world, I’ve officially claimed the title of hairstorian because I have become a recognized expert on all things Black hair. Everything that is except styling. I could still use some help styling my own hair now that I’ve combed out my locs. But that is another post for another day.

Will There Be a Hair Story 3.0?

When Ayana and I turned in the manuscript for the 2014 edition of Hair Story, we were tired. We both had full-time jobs, I had three young kids, and neither one of us was thinking about writing yet another update of Hair Story any time soon. And yet, we were both fully aware that Black people and their hair were not done impacting popular culture. Not even close. We had no idea what was yet to come, but we were clear that Black hair would continue to make headlines, would continue to push the envelope when it came to beauty culture, and continue to be a significant source of revenue for many people. As we sit here in 2026, all of that has proven to be true. So, maybe now is the time for Hair Story 3.

What would you want to read about in an updated version of Hair Story?