Entry · catalog no. 6208
process
/ /ˈprɑːsɛs/ /PRAH-sess
noun · nationwide · 1950s
✓ Verified
1.
Chemically straightened hair worn by Black men; the conk by its other name.
“He kept his process laid down under a stocking cap.”
Origin & Attribution
The straightened style — hair relaxed with lye-based congolene to lie flat and shine — carried two names in Black speech: the conk and the process. Malcolm X''s Autobiography (1965) recounts his first one in painful detail and later named it a badge of self-degradation. Where conk faded, process held on into the 1960s and 70s. See conk.
1920s
Conked and processed hair spreads among Black men
1950s
Process common as the style''s name
1960s
Fades as the Afro rises with Black Power
Region of origin
West
Midwest
N.East
South
Nationwide / diaspora
nationwide · 1950s
Spoken by
nationwide
$PROCESThe Record · cultural traction
▲ Dormant76 yrs
ahead of the mainstream
40/100
peak cultural energy
Introduced to English by the culture — logged here before the mainstream caught on.
Cultural usage — the recordMainstream search interest
First used
1950
in the culture
Cultural energy indexed from documented usage, search interest, and citation frequency. The recorded date is the archive’s permanent point of record.
Hear it spoken
By region — how it actually sounds
@auntiereg
Atlanta, GA
@deltasoul
Memphis, TN
Contribute your pronunciation
Citations & Sources
■
+ Cite a sourceThe Autobiography of Malcolm X (with Alex Haley) — book · 1965
book
See also