“You’re like a Sunsilk advert” is a common jab among Egyptian youth, a way to call someone artificial without the heady confrontation to follow. It’s a nod to decades of Eurocentric beauty standards, of heat-straightened hair and loathing curls. Egyptians have tangoed with the risk of keeping their hair curly, only to be deemed disheveled and irresponsible by those closest to them. “‘You look like you just came out of a sewer’” is a comment Mohamed Tonsy recalled receiving, upon being asked by Egyptian Streets; it was an unsolicited statement, hidden under the guise of goodwill and humor. Tonsy is one example of how young Egyptians are dealt a critical, if not hostile, eye for embracing an otherwise benign facet of their personal style. From employers overlooking candidates for their “messy” and “unkempt” hair, to teachers encouraging students to get rid of the frizz: it’s no surprise that many Egyptians have chosen to heed expectations instead. Hoping to avoid similar comments, they’ve taken to cropping their hair short or leaning on flat-irons and perms for quick fixes for decades. “Constantly told […] it looks like steel wool and I should…
