Hair Pick Emoji

A hair pick, shown as a wide-toothed comb with a handle, used for styling afro-textured hair. Far more than a grooming tool — the hair pick is one of the most culturally significant objects in Black American history.

Added in Unicode 15.0 / Emoji 15.0 (2022). The afro pick has a 6,000-year history: combs designed for textured hair have been found in ancient African archaeological sites. But its most iconic moment came during the Black Power movement of the 1960s-70s, when the raised-fist afro pick became a wearable protest symbol.

In 1969, Samuel H. Bundles Jr. and Henry M. Childrey patented the Black fist afro comb — a pick with a clenched fist handle inspired by the Black Power salute. People wore it in their Afros as a visible statement of Black pride and cultural identity, rejecting Eurocentric beauty standards that demanded hair straightening.

The emoji's inclusion in 2022 was a step toward representing Black hair culture in digital communication. Previous emojis included brushes and combs suited for straight hair but nothing for textured or afro hair. Dove's #CodeMyCrown campaign continues to push for more Black hair representation in emoji.

Used in the natural hair community (#NaturalHair, #TeamNatural), Black hair care content, beauty and self-care discussions, and cultural identity expression. The natural hair movement — which encourages Black people to wear their hair in its natural texture rather than chemically straightening it — has millions of social media participants.

Also used in broader hair care and grooming contexts, though its cultural significance is specifically rooted in Black hair history.

Not flirty — it's about hair care and cultural identity. Appreciating someone's natural hair is a compliment, but the emoji itself is about grooming, not attraction.

The hair pick is at least 6,000 years old. Combs designed for coarse and textured hair have been found in ancient Egyptian and Sub-Saharan African archaeological sites. Throughout African history, combs served as tribal gifts, status symbols, and cultural artifacts.

The afro pick's most iconic era was the 1960s-70s. During the civil rights and Black Power movements, African Americans began rejecting hair straightening and embracing natural Afros as a political statement. The afro pick with a clenched Black fist handle, patented in 1969, became a wearable protest. People left the picks in their hair as visible symbols of solidarity and cultural pride.

The natural hair movement of the 2010s-2020s brought this full circle. Millions of Black people — particularly women — stopped chemically straightening their hair and embraced natural textures. The movement generated billions of social media views and fundamentally shifted beauty standards. The CROWN Act (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair) has been passed in 24+ US states, making hair discrimination illegal.

The emoji's 2022 inclusion recognized that previous emoji sets included combs for straight hair but nothing for textured hair. Dove's #CodeMyCrown campaign continues pushing for more Black hair emojis: afros, braids, cornrows, and locs.

Added in Emoji 15.0 (2022). Single code point: U+1FAAEU+1FAAE. Named "Hair Pick." Part of a broader movement toward diverse hair representation in emoji, alongside efforts like Dove's #CodeMyCrown campaign.

The hair pick is specifically significant in African American and African diaspora culture. In Africa, hair grooming tools and traditions vary by region, ethnic group, and historical period. The wide-tooth pick design in the emoji is most closely associated with Afro-textured hair styling in the Americas and the Black Power movement.

Hair discrimination is a global issue but manifests differently by country. In the US and UK, the CROWN Act addresses workplace hair discrimination. In many African countries, natural hair is the default, and the political dimension of the pick doesn't carry the same weight. The emoji navigates between a universal grooming tool and a culturally specific symbol of resistance and pride.

• •The hair pick is at least 6,000 years old. Ancient African combs for textured hair predate recorded history.
• •The Black fist afro comb was patented in 1969, becoming a wearable protest symbol of the Black Power movement.
• •Previous emojis included combs for straight hair but nothing for textured/afro hair. The hair pick (2022) was the first emoji specifically for Black hair care.
• •The CROWN Act has been passed in 24+ US states, making natural hair discrimination illegal.
• •Dove's #CodeMyCrown campaign continues pushing for more Black hair emojis: afros, braids, cornrows, and locs.

• •Some people see it as just a comb. For the Black community, the hair pick carries 6,000 years of history and 60 years of political significance.
• •The emoji shows a generic wide-tooth pick, not the iconic fist-handle version. Both are culturally important but the fist pick is the more recognized symbol.

• •The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge hosts an exhibition on the origins of the afro comb, tracing it from ancient Africa through the Black Power movement to today.
• •During the Black Power movement, people wore afro picks in their hair as visible solidarity symbols. The pick-in-the-Afro became one of the era's most iconic images.

• •Single code point: U+1FAAEU+1FAAE. No ZWJ needed.
• •No variants or modifiers.
• •Shortcodes: :hair_pick::hair_pick: where supported.
• •Consider including this in beauty and self-care emoji sets within your app.

See the full Emoji Developer Tools guide for regex patterns, encoding helpers, and more.