Kamala Harris, the former Democratic nominee for President of the United States, is known for her glossy and bouncy haircut, which she has previously revealed she manages with a round brush and silk presses.
The "Presidential" look inspired countless women to rush to their stylists for a similar look and hundreds of thousands of tutorials on TiKTok, and has become as famous for the politicians as the Rachel did for Jennifer Aniston in the 1990s.
© AFP via Getty ImagesBut Kamala hasn't always had long, luscious locks – and in fact, had a wildly different hairstyle in the 1980s when in college.
The budding activist spent much of her childhood wearing her hair in braids, a decision made by her mother.
© Kamala Harris"I wanted to wear it out, and it's so funny because I would go to school, and you know, she would have put it in the two braids, and then as soon as I got to school, I would take the braids out," she said in 2024 as she ran for President, admitting she would then rebraid her hair before arriving home.
That rebellious attitude came to fruition when she enrolled at Howard University in 1982 and went for the ultimate change – a pixie cut.
The classic '80s look included a short back and curly sides, and she told Cocoa Butter the decision was made simply because it was "easy."
"Instead of having, you know, to deal with the amount of time that it takes to do your own hair or get it done, which I really couldn't afford to do, it just was easy when I was in college. I just didn't want to have to put that kind of time into worrying about my hair," she said.
© MediaNews Group via Getty ImagesKamala studied political science and economics at the HBCU and also joined her sorority; it was during rush week the picture above was taken.
"So, this is a photograph [from] when I was joining my sorority during a particularly active week in front of Rankin Chapel, that's where we are here, where we would go every Sunday for service," she said in a video, which you can watch below.
Now in her 60s, Kamala remains true to the blowout she is known for – a medium-length, layered blowout with soft waves and flipped ends. She has experimented with color, adding honey-blonde highlights in 2024.
She doesn't use a curling iron, she told Keke Palmer in 2023, admitting it is "too much heat."
Typical silk presses, according to Essence, often use heat as high as 450 degrees, so instead, Kamala uses a round boar-bristle brush to blow out her hair and avoid heat damage. "It takes a lot of heat [for a silk press], but it's just too much to do that and [a hot tool]," said Kamala.
