Free Republic

The natural hair movement entered the mainstream during the civil rights movement. It became even more accepted in the 2000s when social media helped drive a resurgence. But when it comes to nascent technologies like artificial intelligence, there isn't enough training data to create accurate representations of Black hair. In Atlanta, a Spelman College researcher is working to change that.

Inside a West Philadelphia hair salon Tuesday, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a law solidifying protections against hair discrimination in the state. The CROWN Act, which stands for "Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair," prohibits discrimination based on a person's hairstyle, type or texture. Pennsylvania is the 28th state to pass a version of the CROWN Act. "This is a place where the community gets nurtured, and folks get to walk in and walk out looking and feeling their absolute best," Shapiro said. "I think that's noble work." "Wearing our crown is very important to me," said...

A cure for baldness could be on the horizon. Researchers from Taiwan University say they have discovered a serum that could potentially regrow hair in just 20 days. The study, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, showed that fat cells under the skin can restart hair growth. The researchers used mouse skin samples to monitor changes to the fat tissue under the skin, as well as to the hair follicles and the cells that help hair grow, after they caused small injuries to trigger certain reactions, according to a press release. After skin injury, fat cells began breaking down stored...

The iconic Eilean Donan Castle is one of the most picturesque spots in Scotland and has even appeared in Hollywood films. According to a statement released by National Museums Scotland, an exquisite object worthy of the majestic setting was recently recovered during excavations led by FAS Heritage. The team uncovered a rare thirteenth-century tool known as a gravoir, which was used to precisely part hair and create elaborate hairstyles. The item was carved from local red deer antler and shaped into a human figure wearing a hood and holding a book. It is only the third such object of its...

According to a statement released by The National Museum of Denmark, a small figurine long-hidden in its collections has recently been rediscovered and is providing new information about Viking Age fashions. The exquisitely carved, one-inch-tall object was whittled out of expensive walrus ivory and likely served as a gaming piece for a Viking Age game resembling chess. It was first discovered in a burial in Viken in 1797 and has been in the National Museum's storerooms for more than 200 years. However, it recently caught the attention of curator Peter Pentz, who was struck by the figurine's realistic features. Although...

Science reports that recent analysis of an Inca recordkeeping device in the collection of the University of St. Andrews is upending what archaeologists previously thought about the pre-Columbian South American civilization. Hundreds of years ago, the Incas developed a unique system, using knotted cords known as khipus to record information such as dates, numbers, and transactions. These were typically made from long strands of llama or alpaca hair. It had been thought that the job of creating and maintaining these complicated tools was held by highly educated and elite administrative men who were among Inca society's upper echelon. A new...

Hair loss is one of the most feared and traumatic side effects of cancer chemotherapy treatment. That's why scalp cooling caps, often worn during chemotherapy, have become an increasingly common sight in cancer wards. Chemotherapy drugs work by killing rapidly dividing cancer cells—unfortunately, they cause collateral toxicity to rapidly dividing healthy cells in our body, like those in the roots of our hair. Automated scalp cooling devices are used just before, during and after chemotherapy. It reduces blood flow to the scalp, meaning less of the drug reaches the hair follicles. But despite its potential, scalp cooling doesn't work for...

A mouse study has found the sugar 2-deoxy-D-ribose stimulates hair regrowth. Put down the rosemary oil and pause the red light therapy, research suggests the secret to curing male pattern baldness could lie in a sugar that occurs naturally in our bodies. In a mouse model of testosterone-driven hair loss, the sugar, called 2-deoxy-D-ribose, stimulated hair regrowth just as effectively as existing treatment minoxidil – the active ingredient in Rogaine. Though commonly referred to as male pattern baldness, the condition, also known as hereditary-patterned baldness or androgenetic alopecia, affects women too. In fact, up to 40 percent of people experience...

ATLANTA (AP) — Before the oppressive summer heat descends on Atlanta, therapist Brittanee Sims usually gets her thick, curly hair braided at a salon to preserve her healthy mane. But it’s more expensive this year. So she’ll only pay for her teenage daughter and son to get their summer hairdos. Not having braided hair “creates more of a hassle for everything,” said Sims, who counts herself among the tens of millions of women who regularly spend on the Black hair care industry. Now, she said, she has to “go home and figure out what I’m gonna do to my hair...

Vharlie Kirk @charliekirk11 High flow shower heads are BACK! President Trump signs Executive Order to end the war on water pressure: "I like to take a nice long shower to take care of my beautiful hair." We don’t deserve him. 3:35 PM · Apr 9, 2025 ·

Humans are the only mammals with long hair on their heads. Scientists look into what drives this unique feature. Humans evolved long hair on their head to prevent overheating and excess water loss when walking under the hot sun in Africa. iStock, Delmaine Donson In 2004, a Chinese woman named Xie Qiuping won the Guinness World Record for the longest human scalp hair at 5.627 meters—the length of an adult male giraffe! While this is an anomaly, humans are the only mammals that have negligible body hair, but extremely long hair on their heads. “It's such an important part of...

In some good news for nearly half the world's men, scientists have found that a naturally occurring sugar in humans and animals could be harnessed as a topical treatment for male pattern baldness. This discovery could deliver a non-invasive, inexpensive and safer alternative to leading treatment minoxidil. An international team of scientists from the University of Sheffield and COMSATS University Pakistan has found that the organic compound 2-deoxy-D-ribose (2dDR) can stimulate new hair growth, following eight years of research into how this deoxy sugar could assist wound healing. The accidental discovery came about when they saw how hair around wound...

The CEO of a male hair loss and erectile dysfunction treatment company said he is “eager” to hire anti-Israel protesters taking over college campuses in support of Palestinians in Gaza. Andrew Dudum, the Palestinian-American CEO of Hims, a telehealth and online pharmacy known for its suggestive New York City subway ads, shared a link to current openings and encouraged the student protesters to apply. “Moral courage > College degree,” he wrote on X. “If you’re currently protesting against the genocide of the Palestinian people & for your university’s divestment from Israel, keep going. It’s working. “There are plenty of companies...

Vice President Harris is entering into hairy territory — sharing the history of her hair. The vice president opened up about her much-photographed locks in BuzzFeed’s Cocoa Butter video series “Hair Story,” released Monday. “As long as I can remember, my mother would part our hair down the middle and put it in two tight braids,” she said. “I wanted to wear it out,” Harris, 59, said, recalling the work-around she devised as a grade schooler. “It’s so funny because I’d go to school — so [my mother] would put it in the two braids — and then as soon...

It's $7.50 on Amazon.It's April 1, which means companies all over the world are doing the most when it comes to trying to prank us all. But Velveeta promises its newest release is anything but a joke. On Monday, the company best known for its brightly colored cheese announced it is getting into the personal care game with Velveeta Gold, its very first hair dye. And it promised Food & Wine — over and over again — that it indeed isn't a joke. “La Dolce Velveeta is a lifestyle — always confident and forever in service of living by your...

A gel of tiny keratin spheres has been found to promote hair follicle growth. Given that our bodies naturally produce keratin, the research highlights the potential application of using keratin microspheres as a safe and effective hair-growth treatment. Keratin is added to shampoos and conditioners to strengthen and improve the appearance of hair. We also produce the protein, which does the same thing – it keeps hair, skin, and nails healthy and strong. Given their biocompatibility, keratin-based nanoparticles have been explored as carriers for anti-cancer, antimicrobial and wound-healing drugs. The skin’s top layer, or epidermis, is a barrier to penetration,...

<p>A judge in Texas has ruled against a teen who claimed that suspension over his dreadlocks was a violation of his rights.</p><p>Darryl George, 18, a junior at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu has been suspended twice after the the school district declared that his hairstyle violated its length policy.</p>

A Black high school student’s monthslong punishment by his Texas school district for refusing to change his hairstyle does not violate a new state law that prohibits race-based hair discrimination, a judge ruled Thursday. Darryl George, 18, is a junior and has not been in his regular classes at his Houston-area high school since Aug. 31 because his school district, Barbers Hill, says he is violating its policy limiting the length of boys’ hair. The district filed a lawsuit arguing George’s long hair, which he wears in tied and twisted locs on top of his head, violates its dress code...

Danielle Sulikowski a, Melinda Williams a, Gautami Nair a, Brittany Shepherd a, Anne Wilson a, Audrey Tran a, Danielle Wagstaff b https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2023.112406 Highlights • Women use competitor manipulation as a form of intrasexual competition. • Highly competitive women advised hypothetical salon clients to cut off more hair. • Women told clients of similar attractiveness as themselves to cut off the most hair. • Female intrasexual competition may be assortative with respect to mate quality. • Female intrasexual competition manifests without any contextual cues to mating. Abstract Intrasexual competition between women is often covert, and targets rivals' appearance. Here we investigate...

A Michigan hair salon is facing a discrimination charge over a social media post earlier this year that declared transgender customers were “not welcome” and instead should “seek services at a local pet groomer.” In the charge filed on Wednesday, the state’s Department of Civil Rights claimed a July Facebook post made by Traverse City’s Studio 8 Hair Lab owner Christine Geiger violated the state’s civil rights act by unlawfully discriminating against three claimants. “If a human identifies as anything other than a man/woman please seek services at a local pet groomer. You are not welcome at this salon. Period,”...