In the early 2000s when I was interning the office had black men of a certain age who still wore the jheri curl. Even though we made jheri curl jokes in middle/high school, after it had become unfashionable, you weren't going to make the same jokes in front of these guys. The typical profile at the time: late 30s/40s, veteran, logistics or CDL holder, motorcyclist (typically Harley or Goldwing), and devoutly religious. Sometimes people find the style, trend, or community they like and just go all in on it.
What really struck me is how the Jheri curl was so much more than just a hairstyle. It was about giving people a look they’d dreamed of and making it feel accessible.
The way it spread through local salons and word of mouth says a lot too. It wasn’t some huge ad campaign pushing it, it was people telling each other, trying it out, showing up proud.
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[ 3.1 ms ] story [ 31.1 ms ] threadhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGrasobHcKA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=961x0NmyHKE
According to https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-features/com..., "Soul glo" is the more common term now:
> “The term should be ‘Jheri curl,’” Coming to America scholar Questlove tells Rolling Stone. “But everyone says ‘Soul Glo.’”
The way it spread through local salons and word of mouth says a lot too. It wasn’t some huge ad campaign pushing it, it was people telling each other, trying it out, showing up proud.