The history of black hair has evolved from decade to decade and continues to do so today. It doesn’t matter what shape, color or form.” . . black hair has long had the power to set trends and reflect societal attitudes” (naturallycurly.com Michelle Breyer). The past history of African Americans has fueled hatred among black women, creating division within their culture. Black women began to lose their sense of identity around the 14th century, when slaves were forced from their home country of Africa by Europeans, creating the transatlantic slave trade. Around this time, women were seen embracing their natural tresses with highlights and twists, but that seemed to change quickly. In order to adapt to this new European standard of beauty for women. With more and more women wearing their natural hair, black women have begun to accept their unchanged appearance while redefining their perception of beauty. The natural hair movement marked a shift in history for black women, allowing them to break free from the oppression of dominant white society and increase their self-acceptance. This change in the perception of black hair allowed black women to appreciate the complexity of their identity and their pride in being black. Although black women are still often ridiculed for their bouffant hair and locks, many women seem invincible to the negative connotation society places on women's natural hair. With this negative perception comes the concept of cultural appropriation, as non-black individuals began to appropriate black culture by using tanning methods to achieve darker skin and obtaining natural hairstyles such as Bantu knots, afros, cornrows, baby hair, and more because society considers it “high fashion.” Hairstyles that are deeply rooted in African culture are now considered very attractive due to the white skin color of those who wear them and try to imitate these hairstyles as if they were the original creators. For women of African descent, it is a slap in the face that white women can wear natural styles without backlash and be praised for creating "new trends", while black women are often ridiculed for their natural hairstyles. According to Michael Omi and Howard Winant, to understand the concept of racial formation, we must first examine the cultural resistance, discrimination, and prejudice between races that present themselves within identity (Omi and Winant 91). For the black woman, her race is deeply rooted in her identity, which masks the oppression she has experienced.