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Hair-product objects: Ultra Wave → Ultra Sheen → Afro Sheen

CTL-E-1314 · Work · other · 1954–1980

PROVISIONAL evidence grade of this record

Physical objects that sat on Black Chicago bathroom counters and in barbershops/beauty shops: the Ultra Wave relaxer (1954, aimed at men/barbers), Ultra Sheen (1957, aimed at women), and Afro Sheen (1970s, natural hair). Each marks a generational hair practice.

Notes

Merged into canonical KG 2026-10-03 from LIFE-001; source entity IDs: CTL-DR-LIFE-001:CTL-LIFE-E-051; source research type(s): object.

Sources

Record CTL-E-1314 · CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph · evidence grade: PROVISIONAL · 2 sources · CTL research: LIFE-001.
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Cite this record

Cite as: CultureTechLens, “Hair-product objects: Ultra Wave → Ultra Sheen → Afro Sheen (CTL-E-1314),” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph, October 2026. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-1314/

Chicago: CultureTechLens. “Hair-product objects: Ultra Wave → Ultra Sheen → Afro Sheen (CTL-E-1314).” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph. Chicago, IL: CultureTechLens, 2026. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-1314/
APA: CultureTechLens. (2026). Hair-product objects: Ultra Wave → Ultra Sheen → Afro Sheen (CTL-E-1314) [Entity record]. CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph. https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-1314/
MLA: CultureTechLens. “Hair-product objects: Ultra Wave → Ultra Sheen → Afro Sheen (CTL-E-1314).” CultureTechLens Knowledge Graph, 2026, https://culturetechlens.com/graph/entities/ctl-e-1314/

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From the Archive

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The people, places, and institutions this work documents. Photographs from the CultureTechLens research record — rights-cleared, credited, and cited like everything else here.

Apartment houses and funeral parlor in Negro section of Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, 1941
Apartment houses and funeral parlor in Negro section of Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, 1941Photo: Lee, Russell, 1903-1986, FSA-OWI, Public Domain, via Library of Congress
Crowd outside of fashionable Negro church after Easter Sunday service, Black Belt, Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, 1941
Crowd outside of fashionable Negro church after Easter Sunday service, Black Belt, Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, 1941Photo: Rosskam, Edwin, 1903-1985, FSA-OWI, Public Domain, via Library of Congress
Negro grocery store, Black Belt, Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, 1941
Negro grocery store, Black Belt, Chicago, Illinois, Chicago, 1941Photo: Rosskam, Edwin, 1903-1985, FSA-OWI, Public Domain, via Library of Congress

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