Kamala Harris’s Silk Press Is Election Season’s Favorite Look – Essence

“How many times a month do you get a silk press?” Keke Palmer asked Vice President Kamala Harris on her podcast last year. “I don’t use a curling iron; its too much heat. I use a round brush,” she responded. Now, with Harris running for president amid President Biden’s withdrawal, the sound is going viral with over 250,000 likes on TikTok. Following jokes about “Kamala-mandated” silk presses and boar-bristle brush pin-curl tutorials, her flipped ‘50s hairdo has turned into election season’s favorite hair moment.

Her secret? Unlike a typical silk press, which commonly uses heat as high as 450 degrees, Harris uses a round boar-bristle brush to blow out her hair and avoid heat damage. “It takes a lot of heat [for a silk press], but it’s just too much to do that and [a hot tool],” she told Palmer.

We’ve seen the look on Queen Latifah (who joked with Harris in a sketch at the 55th NAACP Image Awards) and a bob version on famous content creator Nara Smith, pushing the fall/winter silk press season up a few months despite the threat of heat and humidity. For Harris, however, her hairstyle is a year-round look not limited to any season. 

Her medium-length cut is almost a bob, flipped at the ends and sitting on her shoulders. Subtle pin curls give dimension while layers add more weight and fullness to the politician’s signature style. In 2021, Harris was on the cover of Vogue— the publication that has since endorsed the presidential candidate— with her then rich brown tone touted with a side part. Now, light brown highlights break up the color, delivering a more mature, yet fun look; mirroring the electric energy around her campaign.