Get this straight: curls bounce back in Cairo - in pictures

Salons and influencers show the way for natural hair

'Shaggy', 'messy', 'unprofessional'... Natural curls were once looked down upon in Egypt, where western beauty standards favoured sleek, straight locks. Now, things are changing. All photos: AFP

Curly hair is now part of an aesthetic liberation movement sweeping across the North African in recent years.

So much so that Sara Safwat, centre, a hairstylist founded the Curly Studio hair salon, with Rola Amer. The salon caters to women and men like them.

The obsession with straight hair, rooted in what Ms Safwat calls 'completely false beauty ideals', compelled generations of women to burn their hair to a crisp using chemical treatments and excessive heat damage. Now curlers have replaced straightening tongs.

This base is steadily growing in Egypt's sizeable cosmetics market. Teacher and natural hair influencer Mariam Ashraf, 26, has seen the market's potential firsthand. Only a hobby at first, her Instagram videos quickly became 'a real source of income'.

'Brands are contacting me more and more to showcase curly hair products,' she said. 'And now, modelling agencies are contacting me for advertisements.'

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