5 Hairstyles That Were Once Illegal (Number 2 Came With A Death Sentence)

The Tignon Laws — When Black Women's Hair Was A Threat

In 1786, the Spanish governor of Louisiana, Esteban Rodríguez Miró, issued the Tignon Laws, requiring free Black women to cover their hair with head wraps called tignons. The reason? Their elaborate hairstyles and fine clothing were considered a threat to the racial hierarchy—they were “too beautiful” and blurred the visual distinction between Black and white women. The law forced them to cover their hair in public, but the women resisted by turning the tignons into elaborate, beautiful headdresses, using the very symbol of their oppression as a fashion statement. The laws remained in place until Louisiana became a US state in 1812.