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HANOI, Vietnam - At a barbershop tucked away in a small Hanoi alley, Le Phuc Hai patiently waits for his hair dye to bleach his natural black into the color of the president of the United States. On a chair next to him, 9-year-old To Gia Huy emerges as a spitting image of a miniature Kim Jong Un...

As women enter ground combat fields in larger numbers, the military services are working harder to make gender-specific accommodations for their gear — even down to tweaking protective equipment to fit around longer hair. According to presentations prepared by the Army and the Marine Corps for the Pentagon’s Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services, both services are making independent changes to ensure gear fits correctly for women with hair buns. A presentation prepared by Army Lt. Col. Ginger L. Whitehead, product manager for Soldier Protective Equipment, shows a recently introduced version of the Female Improved Outer Tactical Vest,...

Clinton Scandal UpdateThe State Department Continues Dragging Its Feet Court Rejects Claim of Racial Distinctions in the Natural Texture of Hair Clinton Scandal Update Hillary Clinton’s use of an email server in the basement of her home while she was secretary of state will leave a permanent stain on our system of justice and on the public’s trust in government. This became abundantly clear during our “Clinton Scandal Update – Emails and the Clinton Foundation” symposium held here in Washington on September 29, 2016. The full video is available here – and is well worth watching and sharing. Chris Farrell,...

Full title: Dreadlock Ban Isn’t Discrimination; Court Rejects Govt. Claim of “Racial Distinctions in the Natural Texture of Black and Non-Black Hair” A federal appellate court has ruled against the Obama administration’s claims that firing a black woman for wearing dreadlocks constitutes racial discrimination and the government agency representing the employee poses an interesting question: Would a woman wearing a hijab face the same fate? The answer is no. Muslims have more rights in the U.S. workplace than African Americans, it seems. In the aftermath of several rulings protecting Muslim rights to wear religious head covers on the job, a...

An Australian woman is fighting to get rid of compulsory bicycle helmet laws because she deems them to be "sexist." Sue Abbott of New South Wales believes that people should have the option of whether to wear bicycle helmets because forcing women to use helmets is "sexist." "It is a very sexist law because a lot of women have maintained hairstyles and would end up with helmet hair," Ms. Abbott explains. "And women have told me that’s one of the factors (for not riding bikes)." Specifically, Abbott is campaigning to make helmets optional instead of mandatory. She believes those who...

[Janet] Stephens is a hairstyle archaeologist who specialises in recreating how women in ancient Rome and Greece wore their hair. She spoke to the BBC about a museum visit that marked the start of a long journey of discovery on which she solved a historical mystery and had her work published in an academic journal.

Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann has made headlines in the media for lots of reasons — her victory in the Iowa straw poll, her joke that Hurricane Irene was God’s warning to Washington about federal spending, to name a few – but now it’s her hairstyle that’s causing a buzz. The Cristophe salon in downtown Washington, D.C. — made famous for cutting the Clintons’ hair when they were in the White House — says some of its customers are requesting the Bachmann ‘do. “People come in with pictures of haircuts they want. Sometimes ripped out of magazines but now, with...

Silky, straight hair has long been considered by many black women to be their crowning glory. So what if getting that look meant enduring the itchy burning that's a hallmark of many chemical straighteners. Or a pricey dependence on "creamy crack," as relaxers are sometimes jokingly called. Getting "good hair" often means transforming one's tightly coiled roots; but it is also more freighted, for many African-American women, and some men, than simply a choice about grooming. Straightening hair has been perceived as a way to be more acceptable to certain relatives, as well as to the white establishment. "If your...

Victoria Beckham, designer Marc Jacobs, and Jennifer LopezFrom her famous bob, Victoria Beckham has opted for shorter hair. She was spotted with a boyish hair cut yesterday, at the Marc Jacobs show at New York Fashion Week. Posh gave her smiles to photographers, posing with Marc Jacobs and Jennifer Lopez.

At Six Flags, the Don'ts of Dos Employees Say Their Ethnic Hairstyles Are Challenged as 'Extreme,' and They've Complained to ACLU By Avis Thomas-Lester Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, June 17, 2006; B01 It's right there, under "Extreme Hairstyles," in the 2006 seasonal handbook for Six Flags America employees: no dreadlocks, tails, partially shaved heads "or any hairstyle that detracts or takes away from Six Flags theming." Braids "must be in neat, even rows and without beads or other ornaments," the amusement park handbook advises.

Question: What was the hairstyle of the Prophet ? And what hairstyles are disallowed specifically ? Answer: (excerpt) With regard to the kinds of hairstyles that are forbidden, they are characterized by the following: 1 – al-Qaza’ (lit. tufts), which is where part of the head is shaved and part is left. It was narrated from Ibn ‘Umar that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade al-qaza’. Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5466; Muslim, 3959. One of the narrators of this hadeeth defines al-qaza’ as shaving part of a child’s head and leaving some of his...