Get 'Fro'd Out?
Big Can Be Beautiful
An afro, or "fro", is a natural hairstyle in which curly hair extends out from the head in all directions. Some people 'fro out their afros to a foot or more.
An afro can be very difficult to maintain, requiring tight curls and often, but not always, coarse hair. It is called the afro because was made popular by black culture. Typically only people of some amount of African descent have tight, thick, curly hair needed for it.
A white man with an afro was Bob Ross.
Virtually anyone can get an afro, however, by using curling tongs and hair gel. With naturally kinky hair, the spiralling, tightly coiled curls can be straightened out somewhat, giving the hair added volume and length, by first braiding the hair, then separating the coils using an afro pick.
Afros enjoyed somewhat of a resurgence in the early 2000s, and have remained popular with many African Americans who continue to wear them as an affirmation of the natural (naptural) beauty of African people, a rejection of European aesthetics and a symbol of political consciousness. Others, including members of other ethnic groups, wear the style simply as an edgy or retro fashion.