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Afro

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File:AfroHairstyle.jpg
Afro hairstyle

An afro, sometimes shortened to fro, is a hairstyle in which the hair poofs out from the head like a cloud. Some people wear their afros quite large, to several times the diameter of the head. It is very difficult to maintain, and requires tight curls and stiff hair which typically only people of African descent naturally have, though anyone can get an afro by using curling tongs and hair gel. The curls are usually teased out to the maximum extent by using an afro pick, which is a sort of long comb.

The afro gained popularity during the 1960s and 1970s, in parallel with the growth of the American Civil Rights Movement. During the 1960s among African Americans, having an afro showed your political stance, and only people who supported the Black Power movement wore them. However, during the course of the 1970s, it passed into mainstream style and lost many of its political connotations. The hairstyle enjoyed somewhat of a resurgence in the early 2000s.

Some people of Jewish descent have hair types which naturally lead to an afro, so when an afro is worn by a Jew (or by extension, any caucasian) it is sometimes called a jewfro.

It is very puffy.