Solange Knowles is a DJ, singer, composer --and a mother. She is also Beyoncé’s sister. But lately the public has only been interested in one thing: her hair. The 26-year-old decided to start keeping her hair natural, Afro-style, rather than straightening it. It’s a “transition” --that’s the term used by African-Americans-- that she talked about on Oprah Winfrey’s show. Since then she has become the ambassador of the “transitioning movement” for a range of beauty products for natural-style hair.

African-American women have long tried to erase their blackness. They abandoned the plaits and the braids that reminded them of the years of segregation and adopted straight, permed blow-dried hair. A flourishing cosmetics industry developed around the treatment of black hair. The return to a more natural hairdo is therefore welcomed with fascination. The topic is debated on media outlets geared towards the African-American community, with explanatory YouTube videos on how to progressively revert to your natural hair.